The MIT Sloan School of Management has posted a review / preview of an upcoming book by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff from Forrester called 'Groundswell .' The book and preview use the work Steve Bendt and I have done on BlueShirt Nation, the Best Buy social networking application we've been working on for the last year and half, as one case study on how companies can use social technology internally.
We're one part of one chapter and like most case studies it provides good direction but not alot of meat and warts. There really isn't room to explore the ugly bits of making it work - like making sure users don't think it completely sucks. Making sure you're building what they're actually asking for. Etcetera.
Harnessing the Power of Social Applications
Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li
People are connecting with one another in increasing numbers, thanks to blogs, social networking sites like MySpace, and countless communities across the Web. Some companies are learning to turn this growing groundswell to their advantage.
Here's a couple excerpts if you don't want to bother with the whole text .
The groundswell within Best Buy began in August of 2006 when Steve Bendt and Gary Koelling, two corporate marketers, wanted to tap into customer insights from the front lines. Using open-source software and parts salvaged from other projects, they started Blue Shirt Nation, a community and social network that focuses on the blue-shirted sales associates who work on the retail floor.
At Best Buy, it was Barry Judge , chief marketing officer, who provided Steven Bendt and Gary Koelling with the resources and political cover to grow Blue Shirt Nation unencumbered. Without such sponsors, social applications face long odds of succeeding.
