Customer Reviews

Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click

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If you care about your reputation, the reputation of your business or organization, or for that matter, the ones you have any affiliation with, then you must read Larry Weber's new book, Sticks & Stones. You won't think about reputation the same way again!

Debbie Hemley

In today's Wall Street Journal (8/3) page B6, the headline "For Companies, a Tweet in Time Can Avert PR Mess" says it all.

Sticks and Stone talks about how to monitor the web and how to respond, keeping your reputation intact and your customers positive. Mr. Weber says "Today there is no line between customer relations/public relations and reputation." True! And the speed with which people pick up ideas, stories and comments is breathtaking, so your digital presence must constantly keep up. The advice is similar to the directions on a shampoo bottle: Wash, rinse, repeat.

Chapter 10, The YouTube Juggernaut, had some cool case studies and strategies for YouTube success. Chapter 11 explains how to find and deal with negative information, criticism and crises. It's a must read.

I think this book would also be useful to nonprofits, mom-and-pops, the self-employed, and government agencies.

Managing your reputation used to mean one-way broadcasts of your company's messages. But social media and the online world means corporate reputations are made and broken in moments.

Sticks & Stones is an excellent book for anyone looking to understand what social media means to business reputations today. However, if you are a CEO or CMO who has come up through the ranks having understood offline communications, the book is especially for you.

Larry Weber is a storyteller. His real world examples draw from his decades of experience (including building one of the largest PR agencies in the world). He knows his stuff--he's been part of this revolution from the beginning.

So if you're wondering "Should I start a corporate blog?" or "Should the CEO be on Facebook and Twitter?" Larry is the man to ask. He puts online communications through social media into perspective and contrasts based on what you're likely already doing in the offline world.

Larry Weber, chairman of W2 Group, has amassed a wealth of experience over his many years of public relations practice and has guided countless business leaders through the minefields of public opinion and corporate reputation maintenance.

Larry's latest work, Sticks & Stone,is an excellent, easy-to-digest education in reputation management in World 2.0 where such concerns as globalization, corporate responsibility and financial transparency are no longer sidebar conversations in staff or board of directors meetings.

From "Digital World, Digital Reputation" to "Tools and Tactics," Sticks & Stones provides easily digestible chapters addressing specific issues and concerns that should be at the forefront of every C-level executive's daily agenda, with strategic observations and tactical suggestions providing a solid framework for safeguarding an organization's digital reputation.

A "must-read" for the CEO or communicator who wants to be prepared to manage and protect his or her company's reputation in the 24/7 digital age.

Some people write a book to become a guru. This book proves that Larry Weber is a new-media guru, and shows why. He gives strategic advice, and then tells exactly how to implement it. How do you determine what you reputation is in on the Web? What do you do in advance of a crisis? What do you do when a crisis strikes? He answers these and other key questions. If you plan to remain active in marketing, fund-raising, or communications for more than the next 15 minutes, read this book.Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click

Larry Weber has authored an extremely useful book that serves as a wake-up call to any business leader that is not taking the online environment seriously when it comes to protecting reputation, building trust and engaging with customers. He offers practical action items, useful hints and nuggets, all rooted in real-life examples, that will make you want to take action immediately.

Amazon shows that people who buy this book also buy "Trust Agents", co-authored by Chris Brogan. These books seem to tackle the same space, but are vastly different. I recommend Weber's book for CEO's, business-leaders and other business people (of large or small enterprises) who aren't deeply ensconced in the social media phenomenon. This book is an excellent way to begin learning how impactful it can be and what steps should be put in motion. Trust Agents is more suited to those who have some experience in this environment and I found it a little more engaging on a deeper level.

In truth, the books compliment each other and reinforce their core messages about online reputation and the power of social media. Both are worth reading...and acting upon.

Recommended reading for anyone involved in public relations or marketing communications. Author Larry Weber does a great job framing "digital reputation" and explaining the new realities of online reputation management. Each chapter offers insight and actionable information -- invaluable whether you work for an organization, counsel clients or need to manage your own "personal brand."

"Sticks and Stones" does a good job explaining the importance of building and protecting your reputation -- something that is more important than ever for businesses in the social media era. After all, there a so many different ways and platforms that people can share their positive and negative experiences.

This is important because a lot of companies still are leery of social media. They may not understand it or they may not understand how to justify it or they think it's a fad and a time waster that doesn't live up to its hype.

Or it may take them time to get support or the resources within the organization; for example, Brooks Brothers announced today a Facebook page today, and asks its customers to "join the conversation." The fact is, as Weber might say, it's actually Brooks Brothers that's joining the conversation -- its customers have probably been talking for years before the store launched its Facebook page.

Weber makes the case that there's a significant value to using social media if only as a brand building initiative, and says that PR and marketing are converging. (In the early 90's, there were a lot of MarComm directors until that went away for a bit, and PR was kept separate and reported to marketing. This convergence, which after 20 years in the PR business I agree with, is another example of back-to-the-future thinking.

"The purest treasure mortal times afford Is spotless reputation." Shakespeare, Richard II.

Digital business reputations are so ethereal I hoped Larry Weber's "Sticks and Stones" would provide a comprehensive guide to building and maintaining a strong online reputations. More than just a list of dos and don'ts, Weber delivers valuable guidance on developing an authentic voice and constructive conversation with your customers; advice on how to transform vociferous critics into company evangelists; the specialized roles required within your organization; building a positive buffer against potential trouble; as well as timely damage limitation techniques. "Sticks and Stones" is an excellent book focused on a most important issue.

Larry Weber's book acts as an essential guide to the mercurial maze of Web 2.0. He demonstrates through a range of corporate case studies how social media is shaping the corporate landscape and impacting businesses reputations online. He argues that businesses need to understand the nature of the social media landscape before making informed decisions on how best to respond to their stakeholders. This is a well written and thought provoking book that should be tucked in every senior managers stocking this Christmas!!