This book is the follow-up to a collection of essays published in 2007 by a group of writers advocating the new age of marketing, where the message is centered around conversations. The second edition challenges companies to let go of their old ways to embrace and adopt a new perspective on marketing.

It encourages business leaders to face the reality that they cannot control the perception of their brand in a marketplace that has been armed with open, archived communication channels. They must view the Internet not as another medium, but as a 2-way conversational tool. They can use it to refine and evolve products and services with valuable customer feedback. They have to let go of the fear and join in on the conversation in order to use it effectively.

People often champion the use of social media to reach customers and enhance marketing efforts…but what about using these tools to innovate from within? In this video, Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson describes how they have used social networks, Wikis, and other Web 2.0 tools to harness the expertise of it’s 175,000 employees and spur collaboration among them.

Peter Hirshberg, co-founder of The Conversation Group, interviews Anderson about several of their internal social media initiatives. As they grow, the scope of their business is evolving from “product distribution company” to a “service and solutions company”… and to address this challenge they have to reverse the roles of leadership and turn the structure upside-down.

Best Buy realized that the employees interacting with customers on a daily basis were the ones who could provide the best feedback. They gave them the tools to collaborate and gave management the power and resources to nurture and execute grassroots ideas. This has created a culture of innovation and creativity in the organization. They are experimenting more and utilizing employees in order to reverse the sluggishness and lack of innovation that is often the side effect of becoming an incredibly large company.

I can’t help but think of the leadership style of Sam Walton, who often interviewed his own employees to get serious feedback about processes. He knew that they were where the rubber truly met the road. The Best Buy social media initiatives take this philosophy to a new level.