FIR co-host Neville Hobson reviews the Kindle e-book edition of #FAIL: The 50 Greatest Social Media Screw-Ups and How to Avoid Being the Next One, by Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans.

This book lays bare not only the biggest corporate mistakes and miscalculations of the social media age, but also points out where the organizational vulnerability is that caused each of the 50 screw-ups, and how you can identify this very thing within your own organization.

From the book description:

“All corporate screw-ups are social. Don’t believe us? Pop onto Twitter and type in the word ‘#Fail’ or search the word ‘boycott’ on Facebook. Up pops the names of many of the world’s largest brands, and the latest consumer grievances and organized pressure campaigns against them.

“#FAIL: The 50 Greatest Social Media Screw-Ups and How to Avoid Being the Next One chronicles another kind of digital pioneer, those brands that have made iconic, early stumbles in social media that have resulted in consequences well beyond a loss of a few ‘friends’ or ‘followers.’ From a lock-picking geek’s take-down of Kryptonite in 2004 to Carnival Corp’s tin-eared response to the Costa Concordia tragedy in January, 2012, the blunders chronicled here have cost companies millions, bruised well-honed corporate reputations and sunk careers.

“There are plenty of mistakes to learn from here – or at least chuckle at in disbelief.”

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“#FAIL: The 50 Greatest Social Media Screw-Ups and How to Avoid Being the Next One by Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans.

Publisher: SMI Press
E-book and paperback (122 pages)
Published: February 2012 (UK), March 2012 (USA)
E-book Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1471615235
Paperback ISBN-10: 1471615235
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1471615238

• Purchase the book online at Amazon US (Kindle | paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle | paperback) or Amazon Deutschland (Kindle | paperback); see book website for other purchase locations.

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(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel’s and my podcast blog.)