Forrester awards effective use of social technology

Initiated by Forrester Research, the awards will honour the most effective and innovative uses of social technology for business

Forrester Research has initiated the Groundswell Awards to honour the most effective and innovative use of social technologies for business. Social technologies include sharing and communication platforms such as blogs, wikis, social networks, podcasts and file sharing sites.

The awards will focus on the business use of social technologies and not their appearance or popularity. Josh Bernoff, vice-president at Forrester Research, said in a statement, “We will concentrate on business effectiveness and value – not just the prettiest blog or the most active wiki – to choose the winners.” Bernoff and his colleague, Charlene Li, also vice-president and analyst at the company, will judge the entries for the awards, which are open to businesses around the globe.

Forrester awards effective use of social technology

Entries can be submitted to Forrester in seven categories: Listening, Speaking, Energising, Supporting, Embracing, Managing and Social Impact. Each of these categories represents a different use of social technology. Listening, for instance, is about using private communities like Communispace for ratings and reviews. Speaking is about communicating with customers through blogs, podcasts and user-generated media. Social Impact looks at how social technology is used for a good cause, such as the cause-related applications on Facebook.

The awards have been named after a book being authored by Bernoff and Li, entitled ‘Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies’. Li describes ‘Groundswell’ in its blog as “a spontaneous movement of people connecting, using online tools, taking charge of their own experience, and getting what they need – information, support, ideas, products, and bargaining power.”

According to a research report on social computing released by Forrester Research, 47 per cent marketers in the US plans to use RSS fee

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