The Thank You Economy

Author Vaynerchuk (Crush It) shares his fascinating analysis of how the Internet has influenced revolutionary changes in communications, the way we buy and sell, and how businesses and consumers interact. These changes are forcing businesses to rethink the value of the ongoing development of online technology. Vaynerchuk acknowledges typical company resistance to investing in a deeper customer connection using social media and discusses realistic corporate concerns about return on investment in the technology, control of an online message, and the possible consumer backlash to the use of these new tools. He also explains various factors that define and drive an investment in social media that will help produce success. Vaynerchuk's passionate, heartfelt reading keeps this lively material moving along, although his frequent alerts and asides about his "off-script" comments quickly become annoying. Nevertheless, this is an important work that solidly sets the stage for any business or organization interested in maximizing today's ubiquitous social media tools. [See Prepub Exploded, 7/14/10; the HarperBusiness hc, published in March, was a New York Times best seller; the HarperCollins pb will publish in October 2012.—Ed.]—Dale Farris, Groves, TX