The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business As Usual

Amazon.com Reviews

How would you classify a book that begins with the salutation, "People of Earth..."? While the captains of industry might dismiss it as mere science fiction, The Cluetrain Manifesto is definitely of this day and age. Aiming squarely at the solar plexus of corporate America, authors Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger show how the Internet is turning business upside down. They proclaim that, thanks to conversations taking place on Web sites and message boards, and in e-mail and chat rooms, employees and customers alike have found voices that undermine the traditional command-and-control hierarchy that organizes most corporate marketing groups. "Markets are conversations," the authors write, and those conversations are "getting smarter faster than most companies." In their view, the lowly customer service rep wields far more power and influence in today's marketplace than the well-oiled front office PR machine.

The Cluetrain Manifesto began as a Web site (www.cluetrain.com) in 1999 when the authors, who have worked variously at IBM, Sun Microsystems, the Linux Journal, and NPR, posted 95 theses that pronounced what they felt was the new reality of the networked marketplace. For example, thesis no. 2: "Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors"; thesis no. 20: "Companies need to realize their markets are often laughing. At them"; thesis no. 62: "Markets do not want to talk to flacks and hucksters. They want to participate in the conversations going on behind the corporate firewall"; thesis no. 74: "We are immune to advertising. Just forget it." The book enlarges on these themes through seven essays filled with dozens of stories and observations about how business gets done in America and how the Internet will change it all. While Cluetrain will strike many as loud and over the top, the message itself remains quite relevant and unique. This book is for anyone interested in the Internet and e-commerce, and is especially important for those businesses struggling to navigate the topography of the wired marketplace. All aboard! --Harry C. Edwards

Book Description

Written by four of the liveliest voices on the Web, this book takes you deeper into the new order of business than any this decade. The Cluetrain Manifesto presents a stunning tapestry of anecdotes, object lessons, parodies, war stories, and suggestions, all aimed at illustrating what it will take to survive and prosper in the fast-forward world on the wire.

The Cluetrain Manifesto burst onto the scene in March 1999, with ninety-five theses nailed up on the Web. Within days, the website had ignited a vibrant global conversation challenging sacred corporate assumptions about the very nature of business in a digital world. The Wall Street Journal called it "absolutely brilliant." Soon, executives from Fortune 500 companies everywhere were lining up to sign-on to the Manifesto. This is the book that delivers on the buzz.

The Cluetrain Manifesto is a wake-up call that says business as usual is gone forever. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter-and getting smarter faster than most companies. Today's markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny, and often shocking. Companies that aren't listening to these exchanges are missing a dire warning. Companies that aren't engaging in them are missing an unprecedented opportunity.

The Cluetrain Manifesto is the culmination of this very real phenomenon. It shares powerful, firsthand experiences describing how Internet business differs radically from the corporate status quo. The fact is that employees are getting hyperlinked even as markets are. Companies need to listen carefully to both.

Customer Reviews:

A for ideas, D- for persuasion.......2007-09-27

This influential book lays out the reasons why companies need to replace corporate speak and marketing puff with online conversations. The reasons are compelling, but the way the authors make their case won't win them many converts. They go on the attack with scathing gusto, dismissing "Fort Business" as a bunch of obsolete buffoons and/or swindlers. Strangely, these buffoons and swindlers are the very people Cluetrain hopes to convert to an entirely new way of thinking.

Looking past the rhetoric, Cluetrain really does make some crucial points. Here are a few that stood out to me -

1. The control mentality of management doesn't work in a wired world where people and information are easily and instantly connected.

2. Companies pay too much attention to competitors and not enough to customers.

3. If companies did pay attention to customers, they'd discover that customers want "Authenticity, honesty, and personal voice ..." (p. 51) Companies mistakenly view customers as consumers instead of people. We don't exist to consume (hopefully).

4. "Positioning should help a company become what it is, not something it's not (no matter how cool it would be)." (p. 99)

5. You can't bluff about your company or products online. People will find you out.

6. The Web challenges formal corporate organizational structures. People can connect and collaborate with whomever they need to in order to get the job done. The Web values competence over position.

Of course, all of this was just as true before the Web. However, the Web has magnified their importance. Today, the penalties for ignoring the Cluetrain principles are stiff, and the rewards are huge, and in the years ahead - even more so.

For a gentler and more balanced assessment of conversations in business and the new marketing rules, try Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers and The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly.

A little dated now, but still right on.......2007-09-07

Cluetrain is an odd and irreverent book. The tone of the time was probably a shock to most readers back when originally published in 2001, and even still it upholds some wry quirkiness the authors were going for as they wrote about the future of the Web. Much has changed in the world of Web since the manifesto was released, and I'm certain, not all of it to the authors liking. The web has become much more corporatized, ecommerce much more like traditional commerce and online marketing shows some vast similarities to off-line marketing. The current web isn't quite what the authors anticipated!

But much of what the authors preach about the web being a conversation is still so very true. And amazingly, many businesses still have not figured that out. While business on the web may bear some resemblance to the off-line world, it's still a very different place. That's what Cluetrain is all about.

Cluetrain will help you understand that the same old processes and strategies that worked off-line for some many years, need not apply here. While there are many similarities, online and offline marketing operate very differently. The book will put you in the mindset to realize that marketing on the web can be done with new ideas, fresh strategies, and most importantly, on a person-to-person level. Throw the corporate play book away. It's time to build a new playbook entirely.

Markets are conversations.......2007-04-27

Having grown up with high-speed internet as an expected must have, this book serves as an interesting reminder of the days I have missed. Multiplayer games, cross-referencing product review on web forums, asking other internet users for advice on products, all the things that seem natural today are in many ways changing the rules of the marketing game, and Cluetrain is all about this dynamic: markets are conversations. Broadcast media is once again being replaced by an older strategy of person-to-person contact, instead of a one way marketing stream.

Some of the information is slightly outdated, some of the sections are plain wacky, but it's an interesting work nonetheless, especially if you're into marketing.

A manifesto for corporate communication in the Internet age.......2007-02-25

Reading the "Cluetrain Manifesto" today is like reading an historic document. The book fuses the countercultural ethos of the 1960s with the go-go business dynamics of the 1990s. Written during the height of the Internet boom, the authors forecast the end not only of corporate marketing, but of traditional corporations altogether. They predicted a transition to an Internet-enabled marketplace of bartering and bantering individuals. The book's pages contain a wealth of overstatement, hyperbole, and provocation (as many have already noted). The flurry of lawsuits based on offhand email (`evidence mail') which emerged after the Internet crash have reemphasized the need for the caution and disclaimers to which the authors so passionately objected.

The basic message of the book remains fresh and contemporary, however. "Markets are conversations." Corporations should encourage those conversations, not inhibit them. It's clear that many corporations still haven't gotten the point. Some companies still require that customers sign pointless non-disclosure agreements to talk with their representatives and other customers about their products. Other companies treat their websites like big, glossy advertising brochures instead of centers of community. Still others issue the bland and senseless press releases derided by the Cluetrain Manifesto to their customers, leaving bloggers to read between the lines and to speculate about what's really going on inside the company.

But some of the largest corporations have clearly gotten the message--or at least a tempered form of it. The best way to cultivate loyalty and confidence among consumers is to become more transparent by allowing conversations to take place not simply between consumers and public relations representatives, but between people working with products and people designing those products. Microsoft's Channel 9 is a good example of a corporation sponsoring an online community that connects individuals to individuals. While this kind of marketing will doubtlessly always be somewhat messy and make some P.R. folk uneasy, it's far more effective than the business-as-usual approach of issuing sanitized press releases to an anonymous group of `consumers.' For the wakeup call that communications between human beings should take place in human voices we are still in these authors' debt.

outdated .......2007-01-03

Good Overview of where things are coming from and a good couple insights. Concepts are not outdated but some of the information is.

The Seven Steps to Nirvana: Strategic Insights into eBusiness Transformation

Average customer rating:

The best about e-business
The best book for e business strategies
Ditto: Hiroo Yamagata
The Seven Steps to Nirvana a must read
Excellent Book on E-strategy

The Seven Steps to Nirvana: Strategic Insights into eBusiness Transformation
Mohanbir S. Sawhney , and Jeff Zabin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

E-Commerce | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Kellogg on Technology and Innovation

ASIN: 0071375228

Amazon.com

While some might find the title's promise of transcendental beatitude a trifle overreaching, The Seven Steps to Nirvana nonetheless provides some excellent insight into the design and implementation of an e-business game plan at "low-tech, smokestack" companies that have heretofore shied away from cyber-strategies. Mohan Sawhney, the McCormick Tribune Professor of Electronic Commerce and Technology at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and Jeff Zabin, a consultant, writer, and speaker, have produced a thought-provoking yet practical entry point for senior managers and other leaders at these firms. The book progresses from creating an overarching initial vision and initiating other critical preliminary preparations to "putting your money where your mouth is, and getting people in the organization to embrace the oft-threatening new world of e-business." Particularly notable are sections on "thinking like an architect (to) open your mind to new possibilities for business innovation" and mitigating channel conflict--or "dissension among the existing institutions"--by making sure the electronic enhancements you are about to append are truly synchronized complements to what you already have. The ideas behind it all are solid and, perhaps most commendably, are anchored to the needs of a real-world customer base. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

Today¿s most successful companies never sit still. Even as they introduce their newest e-business initiatives, their next generation of improvements is already near completion. Traditional organizations¿especially larger, low-tech businesses¿must reinvent themselves if they are to hold their positions against these new business competitors.

The Seven Steps to Nirvana leads managers through the systematic stages needed to transform traditional businesses¿regardless of their industries¿into fierce competitors. Combining hard-hitting analyses with case studies of businesses that made the transition, this concrete, practical tour de force opens readers¿ minds to:

Essential differences between e-commerce and e-business
The evolutionary stages of e-business intervention
Strategies to overcome inertia and organize for speed

Written by one of BusinessWeek's 25 most influential e-business innovators, The Seven Steps to Nirvana is a trove of innovative techniques for brick-and-mortar businesses to meet--and overcome--the challenges of today's faster, nimbler e-upstarts.

Download Description

The Seven Steps to Nirvana is a compass for senior executives as they embark on the journey of e-business transformation.

Customer Reviews:

The best about e-business.......2001-12-13

After reading to many books I found this one, and I could say right now I have a better knowledge of e-business.

I consider my best book about e-business.

The best book for e business strategies.......2001-11-02

If you are looking for a book that talks about e business strategies, I advocate this should be your choice. It's not just b'cas this book is from the guy who is rated as 10 most influential people in E-business, but b'cas he know his audeince very well.

I am sure irrespective of your exposure to e-business, this would change the way you think of e-business.

Ditto: Hiroo Yamagata.......2001-08-09

I'm an American and I too confirm Mr. Yamagata's review: the "quotes from zen or Buddha, or some folk story to make themselves sound profound" is highly irritating (straight talk will do just fine)... and, "Ah,we knew that all along!" borders on arrogance. The book seems to have come from the -publish or perish- world of academe. Need solid information to do the real work ahead, don't look for Nirvana. Sorry, but I could find no new insights from this book, just a contrived rehash of information clearly written elsewhere --in business language, backed by well defended assertions ... my $2 mantra is just fine, thank you.

The Seven Steps to Nirvana a must read.......2001-07-21

As a practitioner in the field, I believe, this is one of the best books on the subject. The book is inspirational and clarifies a lot of confusion that has been created by false start of some e-business initiatives. I highly recommend it to any one interested in understanding the true meaning of e-business.

Excellent Book on E-strategy.......2001-07-05

The so-called "mysterious" world of e-business is covered very well. Categorization into seven steps and further classification of them makes this book very interesting and easy to follow. The case studies and examples are excellent, however it seems that most of them move around some 10-15 companies. Although, this book is targeted to top executives but the language is so easy that any one can comprehend and get benefited. I found the E-volution and E-strategy topics very useful. They provide very good insight on how a company should view and plan e-business initiative. Recommended to any one who is involved in any kind of e-business initiative, this book can take the efforts to much more deep and meaningful level.

Strategic Database Marketing: The Masterplan for Starting and Managing a Profitable Customer-Based Marketing Program

Average customer rating:

Useful content, but not well written
Practical & technical enough for instant application
Fantastic Updated 3rd Edition
Exceptional Coverage of Important Marketing Concepts
The Master Book

Strategic Database Marketing: The Masterplan for Starting and Managing a Profitable Customer-Based Marketing Program
Arthur M. Hughes
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Beginning & Introductory | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The New Direct Marketing: How to Implement A Profit-Driven Database Marketing Strategy
Direct Marketing: Strategy, Planning, Execution
Optimal Database Marketing: Strategy, Development, and Data Mining
Successful Direct Marketing Methods, Seventh Edition
Data Mining Techniques: For Marketing, Sales, and Customer Relationship Management

ASIN: 0071351825

Book Description

Strategic Database Marketing is the only resource to explain database marketing from the customer's point of view, instead of the seller's. Now, as exploding research and technology create entirely new market challenges, the Second Edition of this influential bestseller explains the method for computing RFM (Reach, Frequency, Monetary), as well as covering recently developed tools and resources including the Internet, loyalty programs, customer-specific marketing, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Useful content, but not well written.......2007-08-01

For anyone who's looking for a well-written reflection on state-of-the-art direct marketing, this is not the right book. Yet, Arthur Hughes' 'Strategic Database Marketing' still has its merits.

It's a straight-forward introductory text that covers many aspects of direct marketing - mostly from an old-economy point of view. The good thing about this approach is that Hughes explains many procedures in detail that have proved to be useful over many years of practice (as he lets the reader know on many occasions, he has worked in direct marketing for a long time). And while the dull writing-style occasionally makes the content of the book seem dated, most of the ideas discussed in the book still apply. For example, Hughes does a good job explaining lifetime-value calculations, the Recency-Frequency-Monetary approach, regression analysis and other useful tools for anyone involved in direct marketing.

Unfortunately, it's not an enjoyable book. The biggest drawback is that Hughes doesn't come across as an agile intellect. He's good at explaining procedure, but rather clumsy in discussing ideas. Adding to that is his over-reliance on examples taken from his own private life (you'll learn many things about his wife that you never wanted to know) and his strange need to praise the superiority of the American economy whenever possible. If you can look past that, 'Strategic Database Marketing' may well be worth reading for any professional marketeer.

Practical & technical enough for instant application.......2006-01-22

I love this book. Working as a data analyst in the CRM department, this book teaches me all the practical caculation/ideas for my work.

So far, this is the only book on the market that view database marketing from a quantitative point of view. On the other hand, it also instills the relationship marketing mind-set to the readers. For the rest of books avaliable in the markertplace on CRM/Database marketing, either it's too theoretical or IT. This is the best I read so far.

Fantastic Updated 3rd Edition .......2005-10-23

My approach to marketing was totally changed by reading this book; I was able to refine a jumble of thoughts into a clear, cohesive strategy. If you are at all exposed to marketing at work, Hughes will give you the ability to prioritize what is most important in your job.

Hughes has just released a new edition of this classic. It is thoroughly updated to include developments of the last half decade (the failure of CRM in many applications, advancements in Web and e-mail marketing, etc). Every marketer and entrepreneur should read this book to learn how and why lifetime value is so important and how to build your company's strategy around it.

The best thing about this book is that it covers the technical details adequately, but is still readable enough that you do not need an MBA to understand it.

Exceptional Coverage of Important Marketing Concepts.......2003-08-15

Hughes makes it exceedingly clear why customer loyalty and lifetime value are such critical marketing concepts. Hughes helps marketers understand why our hyper-focus on customer acquisition needs to be adjusted to consider retention and upsell as well.

In particular, Hughes explains:

* What Lifetime Value (LTV) is, why it matters, and how to calculate it
* The importance of testing programs and how best to go about it
* Segmenting your customer base by loyalty and LTV
* How tactics should differ for each segment
* Practical tips for creating a successful database marketing campaign.

Case studies and ROI numbers are used throughout the book. A must read for marketing proessionals.

The Master Book.......2001-05-26

This book is the main book for my Internet Marketing Class at Mercy College's MS in Internet Business Systems program. It includes all necessary topics such as database marketing, banner advertisement, calculating LTV and RFM Email Marketing and best practices. This book is a must read for anyone in direct marketing field.

Content Critical: Gaining Competitive Advantage through High-Quality Web Content

Average customer rating:

Content Critical
Content Critical
An outdated, repetitive book.
I named this book ..."How to be a good web editor"
A Great Developer Guide

Content Critical: Gaining Competitive Advantage through High-Quality Web Content
Gerry McGovern , and Rob Norton
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Web Content Style Guide: An Essential Reference for Online Writers, Editors and Managers
Hot Text: Web Writing that Works
Writing for the Web 3.0 (Self-Counsel Writing Series)
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
Killer Web Content: Make the Sale, Deliver the Service, Build the Brand

ASIN: 027365604X

Customer Reviews:

Content Critical.......2006-03-20

I was a little taken aback by the quality of the printed copy... we use these books at work and when I compare it to earlier orders of the publication, this one and the Style Guide look like photocopies.

Content Critical.......2006-02-17

This reader-friendly book provides a useful overview of the pertinent issues involved in Web content development. Its main argument is that traditional publishing principles should be applied to Web content development. The authors maintain that the quality and effectiveness of Web content can be ensured by using the same approach in online content as is used in print publishing. With regard to persuading the reader of the importance of quality of Web content, the book is effective. However, it falls short of its second goal which is to help the reader gain the skills to develop quality content. One of the main reasons for this shortcoming is the book's lack of depth. By addressing such a broad subject area, the authors neglected to provide the reader with any deep insights. Nonetheless, for anyone new to content development the book would be useful in providing a general idea of the all the elements involved in developing effective Web content. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is looking for in-depth information.

An outdated, repetitive book........2005-11-26

I picked up this book based on the strong reviews here. Perhaps at one time this book was more relevant than it is now, in late 2005. It is most certainly not a book for web designers or developers. It might still be useful for someone in marketing, newly assigned the task of maintaining a site, who hasn't ever thought about web content before.

The book pounds a few ideas repetitively throughout: "content is king! Long live the content editors!" But in terms of actually delivering on that message, it falls far short.

Other reviews mention the book provides "solutions" to content issues -- this is certainly not true. It barely provides a methodology for approaching content issues on the web. When he tire hits the road, the "solution" is often along the lines of "it's important to do the hard work to figure these issues out." Well, huh.

It must be noted that the production quality of this book is terrible: some pages, and graphics, were of fax quality. I'm not kidding. The entire book seems photocopied. Reading about "high quality content" through such a poorly produced book was ironic enough.

In sum: had I seen this book on a shelf and flipped through it momentarily, I most certainly would not have bought it.

I named this book ..."How to be a good web editor".......2005-09-25

Please note: English is not my mother labguage. So, my review may a bit hard to read. But I really want to share my idea.

Summary:
Good introduction for anybody who really want to understand how to be a good web editor and how to manage content to make the benefit for your business. However, this book need more example or case study to fulfill reader's need.

Overview:
Content critical generally reveals the important of content and how can we enhance the user (which author define his user as a 'reader') experience with content. I recommend anybody who interested in information architecture (IA), User experience (UX) to read this book since it explore deep into the area of content.

Good things and not really good things:
Content is quite broad terms. It is not easy to conclude every perspective about content into only one book. But author has the journalism background which is one of the most suitable career to write this book. He descrbe which kind of 'e-content' is good for 'reader' with simple language and without any IT jargon. He also have done a good job on creating the ROI calculation formular. Yet, good comparison between traditional publishing and electronic publishing. This book might be a good reference for students who attend the e-publishing class. If I have a chance to change the name of this book. I think it should be "How to be a good web editor".

Nevertheless, this book still need more case study diagram and picture to make it more easy to understand.

Who should buy this book?
If you are in e-content business already; you may not enjoy to read it because it is too general and lack of case study for you to apply it with your work. But, if you think content is very important (and critical) and you still need to learn more about e-content. This is a great introduction for you.

A Great Developer Guide.......2004-05-23

This is an excellent book that teaches about styles and contents. I find it very helpful for deciding how to provide quality information on my client Web sites. What can be improved about this book is a good discussion on RSS, the tool that get your site contents syndicated and distributed on the Web instantaneously. I also recommend "Free Prize Inside" and "101 Ways to Boost Your Web Traffic, 3rd Edition." These two books address the missing points in the book.

Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs

Average customer rating:

Take a Fresh Look at Your Online Design!
Great e-commerce book but out of date
Don Tapscott's Way... 'Clear Vision' & 'Great Thinking'
Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs
Putting your money where your business should be

Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs
Don Tapscott , David Ticoll , and Alex Lowy
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Creating Value in the Network Economy
Designing and Managing the Supply Chain w/ Student CD-Rom
The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation

ASIN: 1578511933

Amazon.com

God forbid that doing business and making money on the Internet should bear any resemblance whatsoever to the past millennium of bricks-and-mortar capitalism--that would be too easy. Nope, it's a whole different ball game now, and the new rule is: adapt or die. At least that's the message behind Digital Capital. From the three principal cyberconsultants at the Alliance for Converging Technologies (one of whom, Don Tapscott, authored the bestsellers The Digital Economy and Growing Up Digital), comes a paradigm for global takeover: the business web, or "b-web" for short. In their words, b-webs are "strategically aligned, multi-enterprise partner networks of producers, suppliers, service providers, infrastructure companies, and customers that conduct business communication and transactions via digital channels." Some examples are eBay, Cisco, Dell, MP3.com... in short, any enterprise that a) knows how to form lateral partnerships with other goods-or-service providers, and b) eliminates the role of planes, trains, and automobiles--not to mention lots of time, money, and human energy--by doing almost everything over the Internet. Not only do the authors provide a wealth of b-web case studies (including Charles Schwab, Priceline.com, Webvan, AT&T Solutions, and OptiMark in addition to those mentioned above), they outline a step by-step process for weaving a b-web of one's own.

Too often, Digital Capital's sound ideas come marinated in think-tank jargon so alienated from plain English as to be nearly impenetrable. Consider: "Disaggregation leads to 'disintermediation' and 'reintermediation'," which, believe it or not, isn't a line that French film theorists use in pick-up bars, but the simple statement that business webs manage to cut out a lot of the traditional steps between producers and customers. Now why couldn't they just have said that? No matter. After you nibble through the self-important MBA-speak, you'll find a smart look at how online shops are rewiring early 21st-century capitalism. --Timothy Murphy

Book Description

The industrial-age corporation is crumbling. The new form of wealth creation is the business web,and the new basis of wealth is digital capital.

Schwab, eBay, Cisco, MP3, Linux, and dozens of other companies have transformed the rules of competition in their industries, seemingly overnight. They hijacked long-entrenched industry leaders with revolutionary offerings that surprised and delighted customers. These transformers could not and did not act alone: partners enabled them to move with stealth, speed, agility, and force. Such teams of innovators pioneered the business web, or "b-web"--the new platform for competition in the twenty-first century. B-webs--partner networks of producers, service providers, suppliers, infrastructure companies, and customers linked via digital channels--are destroying the firm as we have known it and generating wealth in entirely new ways.

In Digital Capital, information-age visionaries Don Tapscott, David Ticoll, and Alex Lowy describe and explain the b-web phenomenon and the forces behind its emergence. Drawing on three years of multimillion-dollar research into hundreds of b-webs as diverse as the Microsoft alliance and the automotive industry, the authors illuminate the five distinct types of b-web now in play: Agoras, Aggregations, Value Chains, Alliances, and Distributive Networks. Punctuating their analysis with a rich set of case studies, they provide the definitive guide to business model innovation in the digital economy.

The book includes:
* The untold real story behind the story on successes like eBay, Cisco, Linux, Schwab, and Priceline
* Positioning and analysis of emergent e-businesses like Webvan, OptiMark, AT&T Solutions, and Enron
* A step-by-step process for b-web strategy design
* A new approach to maximizing organizational effectiveness in a multi-enterprise environment
* The "ABCDE's" of marketing--heir to the "four P's" of the industrial age
* Guidelines for deciding whether to hire, buy, or partner a needed capability
* A new set of lenses for viewing the stock market

The authors warn that participation in b-webs is not optional. To encounter and satisfy the digital customer, firms must lead or partner in one or more of these new business networks. While no single path leads to b-web success, businesses will adopt effective b-web strategies-or they will simply fade away.

Sustaining advantage in the digital economy demands more than superficial actions like attracting "eyeballs," launching a hot IPO, following "new rules," building a cool Web site, or even just focusing on customers. In Digital Capital we finally have a book that gets beyond whiz-bang clichés to today's central issues of competitive strategy.

Download Description

Business webs, or "b-webs"--partner networks of producers, service providers, suppliers, infrastructure companies, and customers, all linked via digital channels--are generating wealth in entirely new ways. In Digital Capital, information-age visionaries Don Tapscott, David Ticoll, and Alex Lowy describe and explain the b-web phenomenon and the forces behind its emergence. Drawing on three years of research into hundreds of b-webs, the authors illuminate the five distinct types of b-webs now in play. The book includes the story behind the story on successes like eBay, Cisco, Linux, Schwab, and Priceline; provides an analysis of emergent e-businesses such as Webvan, OptiMark, AT&T Solutions, and Enron; and gives the reader a step-by-step process for b-web strategy design. Punctuating their analysis with a rich set of case studies, the authors provide the definitive guide to business model innovation in the digital economy. Sustaining advantage in the digital economy demands more than superficial actions like attracting eyeballs, launching a hot IPO, following "new rules," building a cool Web site, or even just focusing on customers. Digital Capital moves beyond whiz-bang clichés to today's central issues of competitive strategy.

Customer Reviews:

Take a Fresh Look at Your Online Design!.......2006-06-20

Interesting book... all of the authors are officers of the Alliance for Converging Technologies. This book was released in 2000, so it might be considered outdated among the current progression of business books. What I found interesting was how the authors divided the most successful business web designs into five separate categories, explained their pros and cons, and delineated from them strategies for any business web that would be useful today. I find their paradigm still a useful way of interpreting the market.

The five types of business web designs delineated and explained in detail are the: 1. Agoras like Ebay where many buyers and many sellers carry out an almost perfect supply/demand negotiation. 2. Aggregations such as large wholesalers and retailers like Walmart who act as intermediaries between buyers and sellers. 3. Value Chains that add services that add value. 4. Alliances among interdependent businesses and 5. Distributive Networks that would supply all of the extra services needed to carry out an online business such as banks and delivery services.

Human capital and relationship capital in these endeavors is explored. The book finishes with strategies for business webs: 1. Describe your value proposition. (Why exist?) 2. Dis-aggregate, identify the parts of your value system - suppliers, shippers, etc. and also look for weaknesses. 3. Decide what you would want if you were the customer. Ask yourself 'What could I acheive if there were no technological or organizational obstacles. How will this business change when the customer gets control (as the web business progress into the future, the hierarchical structures will flatten and customers will have the balance of power). Then, using this information, edit #1. 4. Reaggregation - put it all back together with a reward structure for all participants including customers. 5. Prepare a Value Map - who do you give value to and receive value from? 6. Mix - incorporate and look into other business web designs that may help.

Four Stars

Great e-commerce book but out of date.......2005-06-24

This book has some good and some bad news on its e-commerce and management relevance to our present day business environment.

THE GOOD NEWS
The authors cover on major strategic management principles in a way that one can easily relate to e-commerce rather than just to traditional bricks-and-mortar method of commerce. This is their well-articulated area and one that is still in context today.

With extensive research on numerous companies among e-commerce companies (referred in the book to as business webs (b-webs)) the authors end up categorizing all b-webs into five categories. These are Agoras, Aggregations, Value Chains, Alliances, and Distributive Networks. What they introduce that is of key value is that these b-webs bring in the business world a unique way of relating with key industry and market constituents for each business. These include all the players in the strategic management environment customers, general public, government, free-lancers, suppliers, competitors, and infrastructure companies.

Bricks-and-mortar firms are unable to compete with b-webs (e-commerce) in doing business because b-webs are more efficient and effective at creating value. The entire value chain activities are different from inbound logistics to storage, production, outbound logistics, to after sales support. Of major difference are the communication channels. For example, traditional companies may rely on telephone and fax in their tracking and communications while b-webs use satellite tracking and web-support services. One may use cash, the other may use electronic transactions. More paperwork and processing verses less paperwork and processing.

The authors endeavor to help businesses to shift from the old order to the new one using strategic management principles. They cover on what they call disaggregation: identifying the five categories of value creation in a business then determining how these can be best served through b-webs. The five categories are customers, context, content, commerce and infrastructure. Each type of b-web has a unique emphasis on each of these categories. For example Distributive Networks which have the least level of control focus more on the role of context providers, channeling most other roles and responsibilities to other players in the b-web.

Over all there are 9 features of b-webs that somehow distinguish them from traditional business:

1. Internet infrastructure, 2. Value proposition innovation, 3. Multienterprise capability machine, 4. Five classes of participants, 5. Coopetition, 6. Customer-centricity, 7. Context reigns, 8. Rules and standards, 9. Bathed in knowledge

THE BAD NEWS
This book is masterpiece for 2000 when it was published. Being a book on e-commerce makes it either an antique or a hard sell in 2005. Their website domain name given in the book [...] is currently (June 2005) under a notorious domain parking, selling and redirecting group [...]). They're notorious for having popups, browser homepage potential manipulation and ultimately annoying online visitors (or is it victims?)

A major hurdle is that the authors extensively use technical and confusing jargon. A business student or professional who wants key points, not language abstracts can easily be put off. Much could have easily been put in everyday English. Terms like disintermediation, reintermediation, reaggregation, disaggregation only bring more confusion to key points in the book.

Terms used for their five business models also seem to be less connected to what they describe. Their five business models are value chains, aggregations, agoras, alliances, and distributive networks. Value chains actually have no connection with the value chain model popularized by Michael Porter in strategic management. Needless to say that the authors are keenly tied to strategic management principles, including the generic value chain itself. Strategic management is their well articulated domain.

In addition, much of what is in the book is by now among obvious principles on e-commerce. For example they argue that e-commerce, which they call business web, or "b-web" is the new platform for competition in the twenty-first century. The authors argue that the new way of doing business is very different to the old bricks-and-mortar method of commerce. It has brought new rules of doing business and those who fail to conform to the new rules will perish. They heavily stress that participation in b-webs is not optional for business success. It is a swim or drown situation.

While this may be extreme it is true that e-commerce is playing an increasing role in being a key success factor (KSF) for many businesses and institutions. For many it is their only KSF. What businesses and institutions now need is how to successfully tap into the potential opportunities available in e-commerce.

Their five business models (b-webs) at best outline the degree of organizational control involved in each e-commerce model. Value Chains have the highest level control while distributive networks have the least. The five models seem less significant today in providing a clear map on setting up an e-commerce "plant." They however do provide major strategic management considerations, an area the authors deserve a lot of credit.

Overall this is a great e-commerce (b-web) book, one of the best for its time (2000 to 2001). If the authors made updates on their work its contents would catch up with IT and e-commerce advances.

Don Tapscott's Way... 'Clear Vision' & 'Great Thinking'.......2001-12-31

Like his other books, this 'Digital Capital' will bring us to a new level of thinking about how Net-Economy will work and shape the world we've already known.

Tapscott's clear vision about 'digital money' will surely give us a higher perspective about what works and what doesn't work in this internet 'boom and bust' era.

One of the best Tapscott's book since 'Digital Economy'.....

Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs.......2001-11-16

Digital Capital articulates the characteristics of web based business models and illustrates how the application of these business models can rapidly change the status quo. Ample examples and quotations from business web innovators show the practicality of the models while the authors' framework offers guidelines to explore and examine business web opportunities. I can now better run and build my company's digital future.

Putting your money where your business should be.......2001-07-31

If the University Texas is correct, the Internet economy is "increasingly being driven by traditional companies adapting Internet technologies." This book discusses how other companies are doing it.

Don Tapscott is a must for any executive looking for tangible case studies. Find more than just a justification for your Internet initiative--find out how other companies are doing it. Fight Coase's Law through more efficient outsourcing; Streamline your partnerships; And more...

Book Description

Crucial techniques for business and finance managers making e-business alliances
Alliances and mergers are coming fast and furious for dot.com and Internet-enabled companies-and in fact are a key strategy for any savvy digital business. In this book, Larraine Segil reveals her proven approach to business development in the Internet world-what Segil has trademarked "fastalliances.com." This is the first book to dissect the unique aspects of e-alliances, from identifying deliverables to providing tools proven to cement swift and decisive relationships in Internet time. Key points are illustrated with both positive and negative examples from companies that include Compaq, Sun, Disney, Go, Kodak, MP3, and Stamps.com.
Alliances are a crucial part of any Internet business-both dot.com and brick-and-mortar-and an important topic for business and finance managers whose companies are making use of the Web. The approach, author credentials, and unique message of FastAlliances create a package that has bestseller potential.

Download Description

Alliances and mergers are coming fast and furious for dot.com and Internet-enabled companies-and in fact are a key strategy for any savvy digital business. In this book, Larraine Segil reveals her proven approach to business development in the Internet world-what Segil has trademarked "fastalliances.com." This is the first book to dissect the unique aspects of e-alliances, from identifying deliverables to providing tools proven to cement swift and decisive relationships in Internet time. Key points are illustrated with both positive and negative examples from companies that include Compaq, Sun, Disney, Go, Kodak, MP3, and Stamps.com.

Customer Reviews:

Collaboration with Appropriate Velocity.......2001-03-02

The hybrid title obviously fuses two very important words: "fast" and "alliance." It is Segil's assertion (and I totally agree) that "The e-commerce business world has turned many old rules on their heads....You have to be ahead of the [other] players in this game. FastAlliances can be the tool -- the approach that helps you reinvent a small part of your organizational structure if you are a traditional (not new Internet) company. If you are a new Internet company, the challenge will be to apply some level of discipline while maintaining the velocity you have already created." So the emphasis for all organizations (regardless of size or nature, be it a "traditional" or "new Internet" organization) must be on forging and sustaining appropriate strategic alliances while conducting business at a high rate of speed. How? Segil offers a "unique model" which suggests a seven-step approach:

1. Diagnosis of Your Company, Competitors, and Industry

2. The Up-Front Work in the Creation of FastAlliances

3. Define the Deliverables for FastAlliances

4. Managing Stakeholder Expectations

5. The Essential Characteristics for Business Development

6. Leveraging the Global E-Space

7. Employing the E-Mindshift System

Actually, there is a Step 8: The Deals -- Making, Managing, Adding Value, and Terminating Them. She explains the "nitty-gritty of creating and managing FastAlliances -- metrics, ongoing change mechanisms, and knowledge transfer; tools, tools, tools!" There is a separate chapter devoted to each Step, followed by a final chapter (Chapter 9) in which she discusses "Pitfalls and Opportunities -- Summing Up." This is an especially valuable chapter because Segil addresses a key issue: How to grow a company in e-space by using traditional alliances along with FastAlliances.

In the Afterword, Segil provides her e-mail address, inviting readers to visit her website and thereby gain access to a suite of more than 25 software processes that comprise the Larraine Segil Partner Relationship Management (PRM) System. She also provides her e-mail address with the expressed hope for a continuing relationship with her readers. In other words, Segil continues to seek out FastAlliances of her own which perhaps (just perhaps) may include one with you. I also direct your attention to two appendices: FastAlliance Toolkit and Companies Supplying Weapons and Countermeasures in the War for Web Customers.

I rate this book so highly because its material is substantial and logically organized, because it is very well-written, and because (as Segil herself would no doubt agree) the book enables, indeed encourages each reader to select a combination of concepts, strategies, and tactics which is most appropriate to her or his own organization. Yes, to some extent, this is a "How to" book but it is also a "Why to" book. The seven-step or, for some, eight-step process allows for all manner of modifications to accommodate (a) the unique needs and interests of each organization and (b) changes in that organization's circumstances (eg leadership, resources, or competitive environment). Of course, the value of this book will be determined by the nature and extent of needs to which its ideas are applied, and, the skill with which such application is made. Now more than ever before, organizations need all the friends they can make...and then keep. Segil suggests a practical and comprehensive process to achieve that objective. Now more than ever before, organizations must also be able to maintain the velocity necessary to compete successfully. Segil also addresses that need. It's nice to know where to locate her if and when a FastAlliance with her would be appropriate to you both.

Written In 60 Days, and Reader Suffers Pain.......2001-02-25

One of a few books I bought in an airport bookstore rather than on amazon, my first thought is that the amazon process really does help--this book is flashy enough to get one to buy it on the fly, but probably would not survive in open competition when alternatives are easily visible in an electronic bookstore.

The author notes that the book was written in 60 days. It shows, and the reader is the one that suffers. I have no doubt that the author, an attractive person by the photo, is a wonderful speaker with many insights to offer. The book, however, is not well laid-out and one has the feeling that 100 different briefings have been sorted into chapter files and dumped into the book. What couldn't be fit into the text was turned into sidebar or text figure.

The book includes a CD-ROM I will never use, as well as a URL for a web address I will never visit. I would rather they had put the money into better editing, more white space, and a much better structure for the book.

My bottom line: the book should not be ignored, but I would recommend that the executive interested in these concepts have a strong younger manager of promise read this as one of 3-4 other similar books, and distill all of them into a ten page memo.

A MUST-READ FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO EXCEL IN E-BUSINESS.......2001-01-25

REQUIRED READING FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO EXCEL IN E-BUSINESS E-business is NOT dot.com business --- It is about supply chain management and customer relationship management. Segil shows readers how FastAlliances can help them stay lean while growing. Her keen insights and expert approach can help any organization use FastAlliances to do the real business of e-business. Readers become armed with the management tools they need to transition from the traditional to the new economy. TRULY GROUND-BREAKING! A MUST READ!

Excellent.......2001-01-11

Larraine Segil's previous book Intelligent Business Alliances was read by several of our partners and became our roadmap for integrating international alliances into our worldwide business development strategy. Now four years later she has given us a whole new way to develop e-business relationships. Continuous expansion of networking is our passport to growth in the global executive search business. Therefore, we have revamped our previously completed 2001 business development plan and have incorporated some of the tools and techniques that Ms. Segil outlines in Fast Alliances: Power Your E-Business. Larraine Segil has had a profound influence on our business model and this book is recommended to any business person who plans to survive in the Internet Age.

Very insightful and motivating.......2001-01-03

For fans of previous Segil books, you will really enjoy this one. What's great about this book is that it's written by someone who has actually had to make alliances work herself and she clearly understands where the pitfalls lie and how to avoid them. Getting up to speed on the internet economy is not an easy task, and Larraine puts business development deals into perspective with her clear analysis and useful set of tools for developing and managing alliances. The book is well written and I found it both interesting and well-paced. I actually think there is a little too much information in here. This could have been two books! So don't plan on finishing this on one plane trip (unless you're traveling to Nairobi on Southwest Airlines :-))

I've already started putting her "Spider Network" tool to good use and its helped me to reconstruct the way I was building business relationships and improve my approach to networking both inside and outside of my organization and my alliance partners' organizations. What I like best about this book is that I got actual tools that I started using right away. I really hate books which talk about a lot of theory but don't give me the practical tools I need to get deals done. There's even a CD included with her book that has some of her tools already loaded on it in software form and it links to her site (www.lsegil.com) which I just went to and was very impressed. I recently saw Larraine speak at a conference I attended and she really impressed me. I highly recommend this book.

Confessions of Shameless Internet Promoters
Average customer rating:

A Wealth of internet marketing information at your fingertips!

Immediate practical advice for internet superstars

A Wealth of Marketing Info!

Hot Web Marketing Ideas From Around the Globe

Web Marketing Secrets Revealed

Confessions of Shameless Internet Promoters
Debbie Allen
Manufacturer: Success Showcase Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Direct | Marketing | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
E-Commerce | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Confessions of Shameless Self-Promoters: Great Marketing Gurus Share Their Innovative, Proven, and Low-Cost Marketing Strategies to Maximize Your Success!

Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters

The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less

31 Days to Millionaire Marketing Miracles

From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with books, E-Books and Information Products

ASIN: 0965096564

Book Description

If you are serious about making it BIG on the Internet this book is for you. The world's most successful online marketing experts share their proven marketing strategies and secrets to success! You will discover: The art of hypnotic emails, how to build a website that sizzles and sells, low cost to no cost online marketing secrets and how to create effective online alliances to magnify your marketing.

Customer Reviews:

A Wealth of internet marketing information at your fingertips!.......2005-08-10

Debbie did a superb job in editing and compiling this rare collection of hundreds of "internet marketing how-to gems" into an easily-understandable, valuable book. A complete "course in a book", even for us experienced internet marketers, Debbie takes the reader from start to finish in sharing her insights as well as those from all of her many noted contributors.

Most internet marketing books are too basic/fluff, this one is not. Exceptionally well written and a "must get" for anyone who wants to do business online. Nice work, Debbie!

Immediate practical advice for internet superstars.......2003-03-01

I wish I had read this book cover to cover the minute I got it. Silly me, I waited for a good time. The time to read it is the minute you can lay your hands on it...but only if you want the wisdom of the most savvy, prosperous folks who use the internet for business.

Each author has done their best to give their hottest tips for internet promotion and success. You cannot learn these tips unless you've walked the road and fell in a few holes along the way. Save yourself the tumble. Buy this book!

A Wealth of Marketing Info!.......2003-01-09

There is a HUGE amount of marketing information, from basics to the extreme, for entrepreneurs online! All of this information comes straight from those who know! This is a must have for anyone who markets or sells online.

Hot Web Marketing Ideas From Around the Globe.......2002-11-21

How often do you get access to leading experts from around the world in the hot new marketing topic - Internet Promotion?

Let's face it - rarely.

This is a 'must have' book for anyone seriously wanting to cut through the Internet clutter and market their service or product on line.

The wealth of ideas and tips from experts around the world make it essential reading from the novice through to the marketing professional.

I'm proud to have been a contributer to the book and highly recommend it to my clients and audiences I speak to around Australia and overseas.

The honeymoon period is over for the net and this book will show you practical, down to earth tips to make the most of this new medium.

I really like the way the book captures the best ideas and latest edge thinking from around the world. There are not many publications that can provide this perspective.

Debbie has done a great job pulling it all together and this will be a great addition to any business library.

Web Marketing Secrets Revealed.......2002-11-21

This is a 'must have' book for anyone seriously wanting to cut through the Internet clutter and market their service or product on line.

The wealth of ideas and tips from experts around the world make it essential reading from the novice through to the marketing professional.

I'm proud to have been a contributer to the book and highly recommend it to my clients and audiences I speak to around Australia and overseas.

If you are still not convinced visit my website at ... and I'll show you why it's so important to sort the Internet 'hype'from reality.

Th ehoneymoon period is over for the net and this book will show you practical, down to earth tips top make the most of this new medium.

Book Description

A top international authority on Web marketing and e-commerce provides a sure-fire formula for developing a winning e-commerce marketing strategy
One of the biggest reasons why so many Internet-based businesses fail isn't poor product or service, or technology failures, or even lack of funding. As Internet marketing guru Ralph F. Wilson explains in this ground-breaking book, a preponderance of e-business failures can be traced back to a lack of know- ledge about the Internet's full potential as a marketing and sales tool. With the help of case studies of outstanding e-business successes and failures, Wilson describes how to develop four, core e-business marketing competencies. Readers learn how to develop a USP, clarify goals, and perform analysis and customer profiling. They also learn how to perform product positioning; develop a balanced promotional mix; provide lifetime customer value; and much more.
Ralph F. Wilson (Loomis, CA) is the founding editor of three popular e-business publications read by 130,000 subscribers in 130 countries: Web Marketing Today, Web Commerce Today, and Doctor Ebiz.

Customer Reviews:

Good for Newbies -- Like Me!.......2007-05-27

None of the reviewers mentioned that this book is also geared toward the niche marketer. I bought this book for a class on marketing a niche business. It was very useful and practical with information I could immediately begin applying to my daily job. This is not a terribly deep book, but it is practical, simple to read (you can probably finish it in a day) and straight to the point. I've worked in media for almost a decade, but did little that was related to marketing on the Internet. It was a very useful book for me to start with. I imagine it would be a good refresher from some folks, too. A lot of the material is obvious, even to an Internet marketing rookie like me, but it synthesizes all of those obvious thing as well as the not-so-obvious into one practical guide. You would have to read a ton of articles to get all this information, but it's all condensed here into one short, simple guide. That is really the best feature of this book.

Nothing new.......2006-11-23

For beginners on marketing and advertising info. On the other hand seems like the book is geared toward someone opening up a major site with many products. Not the best book I've read on the topic, not the worst. My only complaint is the author goes overboard mentioning his website in every single chapter many times, plus his religious links. Please spare us.

Good Starter Book..........2005-03-25

Ralph Wilson could be fairly called an "international treasure". His web site and writings have guided many internet marketers to success and prosperity. He is widely consider to be one of the true "good guys" on the net. He has earned that respect.

This book, however, is best called a "newbie" book. Good basic information, but not something that is going to excite or benefit the person who is already beyond the basics.

If, however, you are just starting to dip your toes into the wild ride called "internet marketing", then this book will get you off to a good start.

An Excellent Book.......2004-09-30

Dr. Wilson is one of the few Internet marketing experts whom I trust implicitly. Why? Everything he advocates in his book you can see in action on his web sites and in his ezines. He lives up to the saying, "Practice what you preach." (He happens to be an ordained minister too). Plus, he does it all with integrity. His reviews are thorough, well-written, and objective--just like this book. Ask any successful Internet marketer for their "short-list" of most-respected experts and Ralph Wilson's name will appear on that list. I did not find his book to be "just for beginners." It is a comprehensive approach to Internet marketing so it necessarily includes elements about which experienced marketers are already familiar. I see that as a strength, not a limitation of this text.

OK but not great.......2004-06-09

The book does a good intro on the topic. But as the other reviewer says, it's short on delivery and action plan. To me, this book would be good for someone who does not have much experience with the Web. If you know what ROI and CPM mean, then skip this book and pick up one that has more techniques in it.

Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces

Average customer rating:

Management's vision is one of the key success factors
The Power of Thought Leadership
A Must Read For Any Company that Plans to Grow
Reality Divided by Logic Always Leaves a Remainder
Momentum Resonates, Agility is the Point

Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces
Ron Ricci , and John Volkmann
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press C2003
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Seeing What's Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant

ASIN: 157851522X

Book Description

When it comes to new products and services, what moves customers to buy? Why do they choose one product over another? What makes them bank on a company’s future? These are the billion-dollar questions facing all companies competing in highly connected markets—and today’s answers will determine tomorrow’s market leaders.

In this book, marketing and communications experts Ron Ricci and John Volkmann argue that the unique features of digital products—and of consumer goods that contain digital components—force customers to consider the viability of the company behind the solution to their problems. Picking a losing company could mean getting stuck with products that can’t be upgraded or services that can’t be extended. So customers buy from the company that they believe will be the long-term—indeed, the inevitable—winner. They buy from the company that has what the authors call momentum.

More than sheer motion, momentum is mass, speed, and direction, combined in a value proposition so compelling that all constituents in a given marketplace believe it—and want to go with it. Ricci and Volkmann provide a practical formula—borrowed from the world of physics and proven in the marketplace—for how companies build and sustain momentum. Drawing upon their intensive study of 20,000 consumer and corporate buyers, the authors also reveal the “six forces of digital differentiation” that characterize “inevitable” market winners in the customer’s mind.

Ricci and Volkmann introduce a “momentum index” that will enable senior management, product marketers, and marketing communication strategists to:

- Measure a brand’s momentum against that of its competitors
Diagnose a company’s strengths and weaknesses as a market contender
- Develop an action plan for sustaining or strengthening a competitive position
- Apply momentum strategies to the digital features of traditional offerings

For anyone responsible for managing or communicating about a company and its brands, this book shows how companies can ride momentum to industry dominance.

Ron Ricci is Vice President of Marketing for Cisco Systems. John Volkmann is Vice President of Strategic Communications at Advanced Micro Devices.

Customer Reviews:

Management's vision is one of the key success factors.......2003-09-09

It is a GREAT book, I enjoyed reading it. Clear, easy to follow the steps of Momentum Building. This book serves as a guide and can be applicable for any size or any type of company that wants to be the successful. The well selected case studies of market leader high tech companies - Cisco, HP, Oracle, IBM and so forth - evidently illustrate the efforts that leaders must undertake in order to build their brand momentum within the Marketplace of Ideas, "where always the best reveal" (J. Milton).

For a PR professional, as I am, it was helpful to understand how important and complex a job it is to keep your CEO personality and the company proposition aligned and consistent. "As a source of future credibility in customer's minds, management vision always exists in relationship to product or service" (pp. 159). Moreover a CEO's vision can determine the future of a whole industry.

This book is a must read for university students in marketing, communications and business fields. Particularly if dealing with research studies; in this research, conducted by Ricci and Wolkmann, students can follow through the design, variables and connections between them, furthermore see great examples and it is not mere statistics.

The Power of Thought Leadership.......2003-07-25

The technology industry is presently going through a structural shift -- not merely a cyclical downturn. In an attempt to meet the increasing demands of customers, many or most companies in the industry's various fields are struggling to sell something more than products. Market leaders are selling frameworks, roadmaps and solution sets. They are selling ideas -- and trying to earn back lost trust in the process. That's critical. The technology industry is in the midst of an extraordinary backlash. Its full revival depends on winning back this trust.

Ron Ricci and John Volkmann have written a timely and extremely readable book that outlines these trends and dynamics -- and then offers prescriptive solutions to guide forward-looking executives in the digital realm. As the authors point out, companies must differentiate themselves in "the markeplace of ideas" if they are to become "unstoppable" in the coming years. That means they must engage the minds and elicit the participation of their customers, partners and other parties; not overwhelm them with slick propaganda and manipulative sales techniques. As Ricci and Volkmann demonstrate, smart companies now realize they must develop customers and influential networks, not merely develop new products and "release" them to a confused marketplace.

If there is one concept in the book that is worthy of debate it is the idea of heavily promoting the "CEO's vision." This is unquestionably a powerful way of "communicating existing, and sometimes complex, ideas about possibilities, new innovations and new models" to prospective customers and other key parties. However, in this day and age, CEOs can fall from grace quite easily. If too much of the company's brand is invested in a single individual, it runs a risk that at least deserves further consideration. Why not "scale" the vision of an entire executive team -- or depersonalize the effort altogether? Clearly, there are trade-offs to be assessed.

That said, I highly recommend this book as a seminal contribution to an emerging field: thought leadership marketing. Ricci and Volkmann have built an effective case -- based on both qualitative and quantitative insights. They have demonstrated the power that ideas, trust and market-driven value will play in the next economy.

A Must Read For Any Company that Plans to Grow.......2003-03-12

A must read for any company that plans to grow - whether a large multinational conglomerate or a small start up. At its heart, I believe, the book is about creating a growth platform for the company - a compelling value proposition that its customers demand; a motivating vision against which its employees can execute; and a strategic direction that investors and shareholders can comfortably expect. Ron Ricci and John Volkmann cleverly use basic principles of physics to argue that it is not just the speed of change that matters but the overall momentum that a company can generate in the marketplace. The lessons in the book are particularly relevant in today's networked world as companies look to leverage their extended enterprise for breaking away from their industry peers. While the authors use several high tech company examples to illustrate their message, this book is equally applicable in almost every industry. In Pharmaceutical companies looking to carve out therapeutic categories or financial service companies looking to partner in wealth management will find the messages relevant. Personally I found the book a very entertaining read - clear, easy to comprehend yet provocative.

Reality Divided by Logic Always Leaves a Remainder.......2003-01-10

The authors deal openly with a tough topic- technology & network products (and for this reason 5 stars). I found a great deal of usable information, and recommend it for its overview on issues related to defending, supporting, or defeating the dominant position in a product category. By specifically addressing the issue of predictability and what can be known about future sales, it directs the business persons' attention to key aspects of their own business that would be useful to research and change.

The title indicates that it might have some useful "business cookbook" step-by-step recipes. Thankfully, it does not (and where it gets a little precriptive it isn't too much). It wasn't clear to me whether the authors were comfortable with this- experts like being prescriptive. However, with all of us now looking at uncertain futures, predictive tools and ideas on improving likely outcomes are so much more useful and believable than prescriptive methods. It is always that remainder which is left when reality is divided by logic that keeps me awake thinking.

Momentum Resonates, Agility is the Point.......2003-01-09

I approached this book with a wary eye. Similar books have been all too late to explain the bruising landscape for tech marketers. But I was hooked by the early reference to Larry Ellison and both the Media Server and NC programs. Little has been written about these campaigns, to some extent because Oracle is a such an enigma, or an "inevitable" enigma as Ricci and Volkmann point out. Their analysis does a good job of cracking the Oracle marketing code and explaining why it's been an important and effective company.

To their credit, they drive the point that technology is renewable; we've heard too much that tech has "matured," so thanks to the authors for re-teaching us that tech is constantly refreshing. While the book might appear to boast the "bubble" companies, it explains why tech companies will again amass their power and seize the agenda.

I can't deny that "momentum" resonates, but it's confusing to any high school physics student insofar as momentum is typically defined as the product of an object's mass and velocity -- not mass, velocity "and" direction. Despite that, the discussions of agility were the most interesting and where I hope more discussion develops. A company's ability to manage news windows, develop industry discussions and control competitive rhetoric are crucial to its (dare I say it) brand momentum. It's a new plan every day in tech, with or without the bubble, and new ideas and initiatives must be controlled, toward or away from a company, without fail.

Whether Ricci's/Volkmann's ideas become part of the vocabulary remains to be seen, but the book's well written and should bend the agenda in marketing.

Business Agility: Strategies For Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Mobile Business Solutions
Average customer rating:

Marvelous Mobile Masterpiece

Business Agility: Strategies For Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Mobile Business Solutions
Nicholas D. Evans
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management Science | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Business & Investing | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Computers & Internet | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Going Wireless: Transform Your Business with Mobile Technology

Mobile Business Strategies: Understanding the Technologies and Opportunities

Mobilize Your Enterprise: Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Wireless Technology

Enterprise Guide to Gaining Business Value from Mobile Technologies

Going Mobile: Building the Real-Time Enterprise with Mobile Applications that Work

ASIN: 0130668370

Book Description

m-Business technology enables you to achieve extraordinary organizational agility Q and deliver unprecedented value to customers wherever they are. In Business Agility, Internet Week columnist Nicholas D. Evans draws upon real case studies to illuminate today's best m-Business strategies and tactics, and offers a complete step-by-step blueprint for execution: planning, process models, architecture, implementation, and much more.

Download Description

m-Business technology enables you to achieve extraordinary organizational agility -- and deliver unprecedented value to customers wherever they are. In Business Agility, Internet Week columnist Nicholas D. Evans draws upon real case studies to illuminate

Customer Reviews:

Marvelous Mobile Masterpiece.......2002-01-28

Nick Evans has a great sense of the mobile marketplace. This book is a solid balance of the high level trends in the mobile industry and practical examples of businesses deploying these technologies.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books