Social computing is a social structure in which technology puts power in communities, not institutions. As more individuals use the Internet to shop, work, and exchange ideas, a more egalitarian social structure is emerging. Individuals take cues from one another, rather than traditional sources of authority — like corporations, media outlets, political institutions or organized religions. Manifestations of social computing include:

• Social networks
• Peer-to-peer content distribution
• Open source software
• Blogs
• RSS
• Podcasting
• Consumer-to-consumer commerce
• Meet-ups
• Mash-ups
• Tagging
• Social search
• User-generated content
• Peer ratings
• Wikis
• Comments and trackbacks
• Widgets
• Voter-driven content

Because power is shifting from institutions to communities, your company is at risk. Rather than ignore, deny, or fight this trend, your company must take steps to tap into the power of social computing as you develop new products, communicate with customers, and manage employees and business partners. You should care about it for two reasons:

• Radically different — and powerful — behaviors. Consumer-to-consumer activities like messaging, blogging, podcasting, social networks, and C2C eCommerce are growing rapidly — especially among young people. And new behaviors borne by these technologies are having real impact. Witness the rise of Linux, the overthrow of a Philippine leader spurred by SMS text messaging, or the success of the Howard Dean presidential campaign — all are illustrations of social computing at work and its profound impact on events and consumer culture.


• Lower levels of trust and brand loyalty. Most consumers do not trust any form of traditional media institution, and trust levels have been declining steadily over the last few years. The only information channel gaining in trust? The Internet. In addition, the number of consumers who say brand is more important than price has declined steadily — from 59% in 2000 to 52% in 2005. The bottom line: Earning customer loyalty from these powerful and less trusting consumers will be far more challenging in the years to come.

Understand the technology and social forces behind social computing, how it will play out in the coming years, and how companies as diverse as CNN, US Cellular, Microsoft, Lego, Procter & Gamble, The BBC, USAA Insurance, Canon, Oracle, and Google are using social computing in:

• Social Computing
  How Networks Erode Institutional Power, And What to Do About It

Social computing technologies.

Many key technologies comprise social computing. Get more in-depth information about how your company can take advantage of these specific emerging technologies:

• Prosper's P2P Lending Network Defies Status Quo
  Social Computing Comes To Financial Services


• B2B Marketing Needs A Makeover — Now
  The New Look: Interactive Marketing And Measurement Technologies


• Financial Consumers Adopt Social Computing
  Bank And Brokerage Customers Who Use RSS, Blogs, And Social Networking Sites


• The Essentials Of Consumer-Driven Innovation
  How The Internet Changes The Economics Of Consumer Innovation


• Ten Cool Technologies For Auto Marketers To Tap


• The Forrester Wave™: Blogging Platforms, Q2 2006
  iUpload Leads, But Other Platforms Also Meet Diverse Needs Well


• Emotive Networks Find A Role In Travel


• Three RSS Applications Travel Can Put to Use Now


• Using RSS As A Marketing Tool


• Podcasting For Marketers
  How Marketers Can Harness This Emerging Medium


• Social Networking Redefines Self-Service Options

Social computing is a global phenomenon.

Forrester tracks the growth of peer-to-peer technologies in Europe and beyond:

• Getting Consumers To Use Mobile Services
  Using Social Computing Energy To Build Contagious Mobile Services


• The European Podcast Consumer


• UK Online Consumers: A Social Computing Snapshot


• A Day In The Life Of A European Blogger


• UK Consumers Adopt Blogs And Other Commentary


• Using Social Computing To Drive Financial Products
  How Social Computing Will Erode Financial Brands And What To Do About It

• Social Computing Acts As A Change Agent For Learning, by Claire Schooley

• Charlene Li's Blog
  Charlene Li's insights on technology developments in media & marketing


• Devices, Media, And The Future Of Everything
  by Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler


• Forrester's Marketing Blog
  by Elana Anderson, Shar VanBoskirk, Peter Kim, and Laura Ramos

• Microsoft Research: Social Computing Group


• IBM Research: Social Computing Group


• The Social Customer Manifesto: "The Forrester 'Social Computing' Paradox"


• Continuous Computing Blog: "Social Machines"

To learn more about how you can leverage social computing as a part of an integrated marketing or CRM strategy, contact us.