Want to get a great overview for business applications of social media?  Look no further than Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

For those who work with social media, this is an invaluable introduction to the topic and gives great coverage to what companies are doing to adapt to this new world. The fact of the matter is that regardless of the size of your company, dealing with social media is not a choice, but that's not a bad thing.  However, what is important is that managers, executives, and marketing departments need to get up to speed on the various aspects of social media.

The authors do a really incredible job of laying out the "groundswell".  This book is really put together really well with tons of great information.  The authors do a great job of introducing each topic and giving great examples throughout the entire book. Each chapter and section is filled with great examples and discussions as well as case studies that really drive the point of the chapter home.

I can't say that I have "one" favorite section of the book because there are a lot of great sections and there are innovative ideas at every point. I think that two of the greatest ideas in this book are the discussion on social technographics and the point that at every juncture the authors make the point that whatever strategies you choose for your social media efforts that you need to go slow.  It's vitally important to know who your customers/clients are when you're thinking about social media or you can otherwise end wasting a lot of time, effort, and money trying things that just aren't reaching who you're trying to reach.  The other key point throughout the entire book is that you need to go slow - rushing in to things can cause a lot of unnecessary pain.

I'm an amateur at social media and this book was invaluable.  I'm responsible for working with social media every day and I'm doing my best to stay on my toes to learn as much as possible about it. This book was a great asset in helping me - I highly recommend it.