Scott Brown is owner of Social Information Group (http://www.socialinformationgroup.com), an independent consulting and information practice focused on the effective use of social networking tools for finding and sharing information. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, government and non-profit organisations, and individuals to help them understand and effectively use these tools. He has over 20 years experience in public, academic and corporate libraries. Most recently, he was a Senior Information Specialist with Sun Microsystems, providing strategic research services and competitive intelligence information for many groups across the company. He is a founding Board member of the SLA CI Division, and adjunct faculty at San Jose State University in California and University of Denver in Colorado, USA. He is a frequent speaker on the use and evolution of social networking tools and information work. He received his library degree from San Jose State University in California, USA, in 1999.

"This is an excellent reference in the domain of social tools being used to gain competitive and business advantage. One of its most useful features is the real-world examples, in parallel with strategies and approaches to search social media today and in the future. It is highly recommended because of its systematic and well-structured approach to each chapter." --Online Information Review

• List of figures and tablesList of examplesAcknowledgmentsAbout the authorIntroduction: the impact of social media and the approach of this bookChapter 1: A brief history of business and competitive information, and the rise of social toolsAbstract:A brief history of business and competitive informationGetting started with social toolsReviewChapter 2: Social networksAbstract:What are they?How do they work?LinkedInGoogle PlusFacebookOrkutOther tools in this categoryReviewChapter 3: Blogs and microblogsAbstract:What are they?How do they work?Blogs and blog searchMicroblogsReviewChapter 4: Video, audio and imagesAbstract:What are they?How do they work?Examples of these sitesVideo resource: YouTubeAudio toolsImage toolsReview of the chapterChapter 5: Social search enginesAbstract:What are they?How do they work?What kind of business and competitive information can be found there?Examples of these toolsSamepointSocialMentionCaveatsAdditional and related tools in this categoryChapter 6: The future of social informationAbstract:IntroductionCurrent trends and developmentsKeeping up with social technologiesA final word about safetyConclusionAppendix 1: resourcesAppendix 2: toolsBibliographyIndex

Scott Brown is owner of Social Information Group (http://www.socialinformationgroup.com), an independent consulting and information practice focused on the effective use of social networking tools for finding and sharing information. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, government and non-profit organisations, and individuals to help them understand and effectively use these tools. He has over 20 years experience in public, academic and corporate libraries. Most recently, he was a Senior Information Specialist with Sun Microsystems, providing strategic research services and competitive intelligence information for many groups across the company. He is a founding Board member of the SLA CI Division, and adjunct faculty at San Jose State University in California and University of Denver in Colorado, USA. He is a frequent speaker on the use and evolution of social networking tools and information work. He received his library degree from San Jose State University in California, USA, in 1999.

"This is an excellent reference in the domain of social tools being used to gain competitive and business advantage. One of its most useful features is the real-world examples, in parallel with strategies and approaches to search social media today and in the future. It is highly recommended because of its systematic and well-structured approach to each chapter." --Online Information Review

• List of figures and tablesList of examplesAcknowledgmentsAbout the authorIntroduction: the impact of social media and the approach of this bookChapter 1: A brief history of business and competitive information, and the rise of social toolsAbstract:A brief history of business and competitive informationGetting started with social toolsReviewChapter 2: Social networksAbstract:What are they?How do they work?LinkedInGoogle PlusFacebookOrkutOther tools in this categoryReviewChapter 3: Blogs and microblogsAbstract:What are they?How do they work?Blogs and blog searchMicroblogsReviewChapter 4: Video, audio and imagesAbstract:What are they?How do they work?Examples of these sitesVideo resource: YouTubeAudio toolsImage toolsReview of the chapterChapter 5: Social search enginesAbstract:What are they?How do they work?What kind of business and competitive information can be found there?Examples of these toolsSamepointSocialMentionCaveatsAdditional and related tools in this categoryChapter 6: The future of social informationAbstract:IntroductionCurrent trends and developmentsKeeping up with social technologiesA final word about safetyConclusionAppendix 1: resourcesAppendix 2: toolsBibliographyIndex