Friends With Features and Benefits: A Marketer's Guide to Scoring with Social Media (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780615822587)

Very few people can say that they have been involved in the Web from "the beginning." Ken Weiss is one of those people. AT&T ran their first online banner in October of 1994, and a few weeks later Ken was brokering sponsorship deals for a leading tire company with some of the web's front running properties.

In an attempt to hustle business in the early days of the Web, Ken took a laptop, portable modem and a mobile phone to a consumer products show in Chicago. "I walked up and down the aisles of the convention center trying to convince the companies that they needed to register their domain name," said Ken. "I would look up their name on the spot to see if it had been registered. At that time, most of the largest brand names in the world were still up for grabs."

Since then, Ken has worked on the client side and agency side for some of America's best brands including: Progressive, Ford, Moen, Bayer, Dirt Devil, Hoover, OfficeMax, Little Tikes and Things Remembered.

Ken's memories serve as reminder to the Web's history. "I spent several years with one of the country's largest Internet consulting firms during the Dotcom Era. I remember day we gathered in one of those outrageous break rooms with leather couches, video games and foosball tables to watch the aftermath of the 9/11 attack on the big screen TV. That signaled the last rush of air from the Internet Bubble, and the end of exorbitant Internet spending."

Throughout these experiences Ken also found the time to write, teach and speak about the Internet. Along the way he took careful notes about businesses, brands and the impact of technology. "For every one company that effectively manages the opportunity created by technology, you will find dozens of companies who are risking brand damage through poor execution." This internet-lifetime of learning is compiled in his book, "Slightware - The Next Great Threat to Brands." Ken's latest book, an examination of social media is now available on Amazon.com and book sites around the world.

Weiss is constantly reminded that the Internet is far from a finished product. "The kids online today have never known life without the internet. Since they have no conception of a world without the web, the have very high standards, and no fear of technology. In their eyes the web is brand new."