by
3.55 of 5 stars
The book that catches the crest of Web 2.0 and shows how any business can harness its power by increasing whuffie, the store of social capital that... read full description

reviews

Jan 19, 2010
Jonny99 rated it: 3 of 5 stars
A goofy title hides a solid review of the web 2.0 landscape. Those, ahem, seasoned enough to remember the slow-motion tsunami that was the introduction of email and the internet are experiencing the same feelings in the face of Facebook and similar social networking tools in combination with pocket-sized PCs known as smart-phones. Despite the clichés the game of business is changing as a component of overall changes happening in human relationships. Early adopter Hunt is a prime position to g More...
Apr 01, 2010
MsSmartiePants rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Very good. On par with Groundswell. I learned so much more about social networking! Plus, great info on how to use social networking to improve the effectiveness of marketing and PR in business and our personal careers! There were referrals to useful websites full of FREE content available to enhance your own pages, blogs, and sites. This book is all about building value and keeping your mindset where it needs to be in this 21st century: how to help your customer get what they want and nee More...
May 27, 2011
Ken rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This was a great read, and I could feel Tara Hunt's passion in this subject coming off the pages. Relationships or Whuffie is important for curating returning customers and for them to spread the news of your business. This is even more so when we are at the stage of moving beyond social media and into social business. We need to engage more with our loyal customers and empower them to be our advocates.

Social media is one of those things that are hard to justify the ROI, similar to tel More...
Mar 16, 2009
Michael marked it as to-read
excerpt from a review...
"Money isn’t the capital of choice in online communities, it is Whuffie - social capital – and how to raise it is the heart of this book.” In the Web 2.0 world, market capital flows from having high social capital. Without Whuffie you lose your connections and any recommendation you make will be seen as spam, met with negative reactions and a loss of social capital...Tara Hunt has found, online success comes from building a community and being part of it – n More...
Jul 30, 2010
Michelle rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This is one of those books that was kind of wasted on me but I think it’s good and will definitely recommend it to people. Why was it wasted on me? Because I already kind of live “The Whuffie Factor.” Open, transparent, trying to do well by doing good, being a good community member, etc, etc. I live the social media lifestyle (for lack of a better term) so there wasn’t a lot of new information in this book for me.
Aug 13, 2009
Oleg rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Tara Hunt provides examples from her own career and the work of others on how to gain "Whuffie" or social capital.

She explains the principles (this is not a how-to book) of using social media to create and/or participate in a community.

Though this book is primarily designed for business-people, it encouraged to me to engage in the Twitter poetry community.
Nov 28, 2011
Michael rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This is a good book with numerous examples on harnessing Web 2.0 and social media technologies (Facebook, Twitter) to make a good business even better. I read only the first third, but I'd return to this one if I were running a business. Much of the material resonates with a book I read a few years ago by Jeff Jarvis called _What Would Google Do?_.
Dec 05, 2009
Kelly rated it: 1 of 5 stars
She's very much promoting herself. When a book about social media in late 2009 has to define what Twitter and Flickr are, I just question who the audience is if it's not a "how to." And then having to explain who Dave Weinberger is. Clearly not a book I am the audience for but I just found this wholly unimpressive. It's not where I'd send people looking for the reasons why. I'd go to, oh, Dave Weinberger.
Jun 29, 2009
Diane rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I love everything this book has to say about businesses making effective use of social media tools. The only thing that keeps this from being a 4 or 4-star review is the editing. I tend to think that Tara Hunt's editor did her a bit of a disservice here - the writing in places is distractingly ungrammatical, and the overall structure could be confusing for someone new to social media. (Why, for example, write a book about social media tools that doesn't explain these tools until somewhere around More...
Sep 26, 2009
Michelle rated it: 3 of 5 stars
A decent primer on social media best practices for businesspeople who need to get up to speed fast. Not a whole lot of new material for those who've been following the trends from early on, but it is refreshing to sit down and think about this stuff in more than 140 characters.
Aug 01, 2009
Marc added it
Read this as part of a reading group discussion at artsjournal.com/gap. It's a good introduction to the values of social networks. My group read it in regard to how its lessons can be applied to the arts -- to individual musicians and to organizations.
May 19, 2010
Adam rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Tara gives a GREAT overview of how social media is changing the world today through businesses and imagines how else that might affect you and the way you run your own business or organization.

It's a really great read and I recommend it.
Dec 26, 2011
Fred rated it: 3 of 5 stars
A book that could easily have been a chapter. Hunt chose to cover all of social media (as of 3 years ago) from the perspective of the value of reputation, which is not at all wrong, it's just one perspective. Don't take "Whuffie" as the final word.
Nov 12, 2009
Tracey rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Adult nonfiction. How to be a more effective social networker. Recommended reading for businesses, organizations, and bloggers.
Dec 09, 2010
Hartono rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I just learned how to practice javanese saying "Sugih tanpa bandha" - rich without things. Since your best friend willing to provide anything you want, as fruit of you good deed in the past!
Oct 03, 2009
Hendry rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This a good book on how to build social capital through social-networking sites & on-line communities.
Aug 31, 2011
Nic rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Some really good stuff in this book. You have to pick out the good bits, but I think the general assertion that tomorrow's winners are going to be the companies that participate genuinely in social media and contribute to the community above and beyond selling their product/service. Beyond that this book is full of good practical tips on how to operate in this brave new world, both for traditional brands and entrepreneurs building community websites.
Oct 20, 2009
SerahRose rated it: 1 of 5 stars
Very unimpressive. I was basically an extended biography about why we should think she's so cool because she's so good at social capitalism using online media. I think she needs more friends "IRL" to counteract the online ego.

There wasn't a lot of useful information for me. I'm certainly not a social media marketing guru so I thought there'd be a lot more for me but I pretty much knew it all. There were a few websites that looked interesting but those could have been co More...
Jul 02, 2009
Kim rated it: 5 of 5 stars
The most relevant book I've read this year
May 04, 2009
Evan rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Great overview of the social capital ideas that run through so much of the current web community.

Feels a bit laundry-list-ish at times, but they're all good stories.
Jul 05, 2009
Dimitrios rated it: 3 of 5 stars
A bit fluffy, but has good examples of engaging online communities for business and social purposes.
Jun 28, 2009
Daynah rated it: 4 of 5 stars
An enjoyable read if you like social networking or thinking about advertising your business online. Lots of great examples of what having social capital (whuffie) can take you and your business/projects.
Nov 11, 2009
Don rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Tara has lots of first hand experience of managing communities and fame on the Internet. The book does a good job of showing her approach to customer-centric social network interaction. I especially liked the real-world accounts of companies and people she has worked for.
Jul 23, 2010
Susan rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I learned so much; and need to get this in my library to re-listen/read it. Many jewels of information for someone who is not savey in the technology that is available to us today.....
Dec 29, 2009
Kevin rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Very good. Love the concept of whuffie as described in Tara's book. Worthwhile for reading by digital marketing n00bs and veterans.
May 08, 2010
Jodi rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Lots of good real-world examples for how to do things right!
Sep 13, 2010
Yuri rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Pretty basis and redundant for anybody the least bit familiar with social media. Has some good case studies though.
Jan 28, 2011
Richard rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This book has excellent social media marketing information and strategies. I liked it so much, I bought the audiobook so I can listen over and over!
Feb 09, 2012
Susan added it
Feb 07, 2012
Brian Gunderson added it