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Today's customer craves human contact. We're
sick to death of voicemail. Menus of options that never
offer the option we need. A deluge of carefully spun "information"
designed not to answer our concerns, but to influence our
decisions. Mechanical voices telling us our call is important
to them even as they refuse to answer it.
We're frustrated in our attempts to reach
a live human being, and when we finally do, all too often
it's someone who barely speaks our language and only reads
from a script.
Is it so surprising that the consumer
distrusts the corporation?
Into this charged atmosphere comes a phenomenon
called blogging. It's interactive. It's informal. It's peppered
with misspellings, grammatical errors, and an occasional
forbidden word.
It comes from a real person. And it allows
the consumer to talk back.
Robert Scoble, author of the nation's best-read
business blog, and veteran consultant Shel Israel believe
blogging is already changing the face of business. They
show you how employee bloggers altered the public's perception
of Microsoft. How an outspoken NBA team owner uses his blog
to connect with fans. How small businesses and Fortune 500
companies alike can benefit from blogging, and how failing
to use it properly can be disastrous.
In the totally forthright manner that defines
a good blog, Scoble and Israel are equally honest about
blogging's dangers. They examine the risks and how to manage
them. And they've practiced what they preach. You'll read
comments they received when they published early drafts
of this book on their own blog.
Traditional corporate communication is one-way,
and customers are tired of being talked at. They want to
talk back. This landmark book shows you how to let them,
and why your business may depend on it.
Robert Scoble helps run Microsoft's Channel
9 Web site. He began his blog in 2000 and now has more than
3.5 million readers every year. Scoble's blog, http://www.scobleizer.com,
has earned acclaim in Fortune magazine, Fast
Company, and The Economist.
Shel Israel played a key strategic role
in introducing some of technology's most successful products,
including PowerPoint, FileMaker, and Sun Microsystems workstations.
He's been an expert on innovation for more than twenty years.
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