Online Communities Handbook: Building Your Business and Brand on the Web

Foreword

Online communities are playing an increasingly important role in marketing and brand management. In 2009, the online landscape is dramatically different from what it was ten years ago. No longer just for young people and techies, the Internet is being used by an ever larger portion of the population. Today’s Internet users are no longer satisfied with merely reading content. Instead, people go online to communicate with others, meet friends on social networks, discuss brand experiences, and publish content of their own. The relationship between brands and consumers is undergoing a parallel evolution—more and more, consumers expect the chance to interact with brands. Rather than passively receiving brand messages, they want to be participants, ...