Mastering the Groundswell

Over the past couple of weeks, my social media class read the book “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies” by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. When I first began to read this book, I had a difficult time understanding what exactly the groundswell was and why I need to learn about it for the course.

What is the groundswell? As defined in the book, the groundswell is “a social trend in which people use technologies to get things they need from each other; rather than from traditional institutions like corporations” (Pg. 9). Ultimately, the groundswell is about relationships.

After completing the book, I wanted to review some of the concepts I found the most beneficial for my future professional career. The five objectives outlined for companies to pursue in the groundswell were mentioned frequently throughout the text, contributing to my belief that these five objectives should be valued:

           

1.     Listening

2.     Talking

3.     Energizing (most powerful and risky technique) 

4.     Supporting

5.     Embracing

If a company is encouraged to pursue these five objectives, then I find them equally as important in my professional life. We are all a part of the groundswell. Essentially, we can build on our own successes just by utilizing the strategies laid out in this book. Why not take advantage of all of the information the authors have provided us with? Why not learn how to use the five objectives in our own lives to help prepare us for future successes?

I found this book interesting and informative. Who knew there was so much that goes into the place called the groundswell? I will aspire to the qualities of groundswell thinking to help prepare myself for a successful professional life.

Now that my class has completed this book, we will be tested on our knowledge in class. I feel that I have retained a large amount of the information from this book because I found it so interesting, but I think the number of useful concepts within the book were extensive. I’m hoping I will be able to embrace my new groundswell thinking during the test and expand my success in the study of social media.