Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers

by Robert Scoble, Shel Israel

From the creator of the number one business blog comes a powerful exploration of how, and why, businesses had better be blogging: Naked Conversations. According to experts Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, blogs offer businesses something that has long been lacking in their communication with customers -- meaningful dialogue. Devoid of corporate-speak and empty promises, business blogs can humanize communication, bringing companies and their constituencies together in a way that improves both image and bottom line.

The authors use more than 50 case histories to explain why blogging is an efficient and credible method of business communication. You'll find yourself excited about the possibilities blogs present after reading just a few pages. Discover how:


Prominent business leaders, including Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, Bob Lutz from General Motors, and Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems, are beginning to use blogs to connect with their customers in new ways. Blogging has changed the rules of communication and competition. You can launch an effective blogging strategy and the reasons why you should. Featuring a foreword by Tom Peters, this is a resource you and your business can't do without.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Social Media, Communication, Technology, Internet, Social

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 17, 2005

Reviews

[Manda]

Naked Conversations isn't a book that tells you HOW to blog but instead gives you concrete examples of WHY to blog. It strips it down to its bare functionality explaining how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers. It describes in great detail how blogging can give you the opportunity to boost your credibility in a world that is becoming more and more cynical of traditional marketing and PR tactics. A good read for anyone in marketing but a MUST read for business owners thinking about utilizing the blogsphere.

[Momal MT]

It's a good book. The examples and links in this book are outdated but the core objective of this book is very helpful for bloggers. I love the title of this book.

[Ashwin]

The book is about business blogging. It's written by the popular blogger Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. In the initial chapters, the authors talk about how blogging at M$ and Sun have changed the perception of the companies in the outside world. This has been true in my case. I see a more human M$ after becoming a visitor to Channel 9. Same at Sun, where thousands of employees blog, including Jonathan Schwartz. Apple and Google come out bad in the book, both for not allowing employees to blog about work.

In the later chapters, the book takes on different kinds of people and businesses and discuss how and why blogging might help them. The book is full of anecdotes and pointers to other blogs. Though the anecdotes are interesting, there are too many of them and many are similar, so it gets boring. The book might have carried the same message in half its size.

[Cristian China birta]

Cartea de ocupa 100% de blogurile comerciale, ca sa le zicem asa, adica din care autorii lor (persoane sau firme) sa scoata, intr-un fel sau altul, profit. Cei doi autori nu contenesc in a preamari avantajele imense ale unui blog, vazut de (mult) prea multe ori de Scoble si Israel ca pe solutia finala si teribila. Ba chiar, cand e vorba de pericolele si de dezavantajele de a avea blog, cei doi, si aici vine shmelkeria de care ziceam, reusesc sa intoarca argumentele contra tot inspre… a avea blog. Deci daca ar fi sa reprosez ceva cartii, asta ar fi, excesul de laudatio pentru bloguri si urmarile lor.

Mai mult în articol https://cristianchinabirta.ro/2009/11...

[Sean Howard]

This is a very basic book in that it is meant for people unfamiliar with blogging and further I would say it is targeted at corporate side personnel interested in understanding the value or benefits of blogging.

A bit sensationalistic for my nature but a solid book in a space where there aren't too many resources.

[Michael Coates]

Robert & Shel's foray into the publishing world that helped propel them into the guru status they enjoy today. I'm not kidding, they both know their stuff and aren't afraid to tell you. I can say that because I consider them both friends. This book did start the serious look by business at the online world as a two-way dialogue, a trend that has only accelerated since then.

[Lisa]

Great book about how to use blogging in your professional life. I really enjoyed the authors' writing style - quite engaging. And I enjoyed all of the stories about businesses and organizations that are using blogging - the stories are very effective. I learned a lot of useful things that I'll take with me as I use blogging in my professional life, as a volunteer blog writer for my church.

[Krystal]

While this wasn't exactly what I was looking for, and is now a bit dated, I still found it a useful introduction to blogs in a business context and what a reader expects from an "official" blog from a company. It was also handy to have the early blogging "rules" laid out in an approachable read. Sort of like a cheat sheet for blogging beginners.

[Andy]

In many ways this book may seem somewhat dated to those of us who (used to) blog (bt), but its focus is on why businesses should blog—and in my experience, is a must read for any marketing person working for a major US corporation.

[Yuri Artibise]

Interesting to see how much remains true, even 5 years after publication. Goes to show the blogs, like the rest of social media are simply tools and in and of themselves important. What is important is WHY we use them.

[Teri Temme]

"In this new era, companies don't win by talking to people. They win by listening to people as well." Well said. A little out of date now, written in 2006, but I am glad I read it. It was nice to learn about "the way it was". Interesting read.

[Chris]

This book is very informative about blogging. The downside is that being written in 2005, the information is now a little dated. While many of the principles remain the same, a number of tools and websites have emerged to help move the blog culture to an entirely new level.

[Isabella]

Strano come i libri che si leggono per questioni universitarie siano sempre le letture più lente, eh?

Letto per raccogliere materiale per la tesi. Interessante e mi ha dato nuovi spunti! Sono abbastanza d'accordo con lo scrittore - rivedrei solo alcune questioni.

[Richard Trus]

Interesting read. Lots of good examples

[Bonita Rose]

great book all about the effects of blogging in the business world.. great read for the serious blogger!

[Lost In A Fog]

This already feels a bit dated, but it was one of the first manifestos on the power of the blogosphere.

[Marie]

Though I got some helpful information from this overall I didn't like it; somehow it's just not an interesting read. I didn't finish it. I've found more helpful info ironically ...on blogs.

[Grant]

It read slightly better than a textbook. It, at least, kept my interest from beginning to end.

[Sarah]

Anyone who is in a position to create a corporate blog, or responsible for monitoring what others say about a company in the blogosphere must read this book!

[Ryan Jones]

I have it, but haven't gotten around to it yet,

[Mark]

To blog or not to blog... more importantly how to do it "right".

[Kimberly Cain]

Helpful for learning about blogging.

[Murray]

A good overview of blogging in the corporate environment. Easy to read. Not too detailed, but has good case studies/examples. (Nothing on government blogs, though.)

[Renee]

Good overview and what to think about when blogging. It is more for the newbie than anyone who has experience with it. I didn't learn anything earth shattering but it put it all together well.

[Craig Thomler]

Good, if now dated, view on the value of blogging to organisations. Has some good case studies, though a trifle evangelical in places.

[cati]

was reading for sw work. just ok

[Stephen Evans]

Everything you want and need to know about corporate blogging.

[Michelle]

Although now outdated, a good look back at the early days of blogs. Social media has dramatically changed the landscape.

[Mike Love]

The book to read on business blogging by the ex-MSFT The Scobilizer. Reading this book persuaded me to start blogging.

[Cindy]

Liked it. Outdated (blog era)