Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom – Book Review

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom
by Matthew Fraser & Soumitra Dutta
Wiley Publishing
Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-470-74014-9
GBP 15.99 / USD 29.95 / CND 32.95

Sheep in the boardroom could be a rather messy affair and throwing such might require all manner of risk assessments to be undertaken.

However, the book by the above title is one that anyone remotely interested in the phenomenon of online social media should read and also and especially those that reject such social site such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. in a business setting. Many companies and agencies indeed use such services nowadays.

MySpace. Facebook. YouTube. Wikipedia. Twitter. Social networking sites are a global phenomenon boasting hundreds of millions of members. “Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom” is the first book written for a wide audience about the powerful tread that is reshaping our lives: the Web 2.0 social networking revolution.

Twitter and Facebook presences for businesses and governments will become, I think, a must have in the not too distant future, if not already now, and the “leaders” better get prepared. “Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom” is going to be a tool in this preparation endeavor.

“Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom” is a definite “must read” for anyone, not just businesses, using online social media or thinking about doing so, for it also touches specifically on some of the privacy issues of online profiles and especially the fact that those are, more or less, for life. The wrong kind of information on it, therefore, can haunt the “owner” for ever and can cause lots of grief and heartache.

Properly created and maintained, however, online social networking can be beneficial for everyone. It is just very important what and especially what not to put into one's online profile on whichever platform.

An important point to remember when using the Internet and online social networking of whatever kind is the active management of one's profile, one's branding and this is something that the authors of this book reiterate again and again.

Even and particularly young people must be made to realize this fact, that is to say that your online profile follows you for life, and all you do on those social sites, for many prospective employers will now “Google” the applicant before and interview and then something from the past may cause one to not to be considered for this or that job.

When it comes to Blogging there too lies the danger as to what one writes, if one uses a Blog as a sort of diary, for the “wrong” diary entries online can kick one right up the butt when one has thought that all to be well in the past and again and again the authors of the book clearly spell this out.

Social networks or one kind or another, or more than one even, I think, will become part of everyone's life sooner rather than later and the management of the contents if very important, not to say crucial and critical, as not to cause us grief.

The book is refreshingly original, often unexpected and always insightful and I have greatly enjoyed this book as it is not only very informative but also very well written indeed and I can recommend it to everyone.

The authors examine the powerful forces behind the social 'e'-revolution, detailing often absurd an powerful reactions, as well as making predictions about the long-term consequences of all those things that are going on in the field of social networking at the moment and also what could be the future.

A book worth considering as a good read for anyone, from the youth who is very much into this all, to corporations and government bureaucracies, and everyone in between. Online social networking is here to stay and something that we all soon will be doing if we are not doing so already.

“Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom” is a great read and should be read by all.

© 2009
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