This open access book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of knowledge on the state of crowdfunding research and practice. It considers crowdfunding models and their different manifestations across a variety of geographies and sectors, and explores the perspectives of fundraisers, backers, platforms, and regulators. Gathering insights from a wide range of influential researchers in the field, the book balances concepts, theory, and case studies. Going beyond previous research on crowdfunding, the contributors also investigate issues of community, sustainability, education, and ethics. A vital resource for anyone researching crowdfunding, this book offers readers a deep understanding of the characteristics, business models, user-relations, and behavioural patterns of crowdfunding.

'Work hard, have fun, make history' proclaims the slogan on the walls of Amazon's warehouses. This cheerful message hides a reality of digital surveillance, aggressive anti-union tactics and disciplinary layoffs. Reminiscent of the tumult of early industrial capitalism, the hundreds of thousands of workers who help Amazon fulfil consumers' desire are part of an experiment in changing the way we all work. In this book, Alessandro Delfanti takes readers inside Amazon's warehouses to show how technological advancements and managerial techniques subdue the workers rather than empower them, as seen in the sensors that track workers' every movement around the floor and algorithmic systems that re-route orders to circumvent worker sabotage. He looks at new technologies including robotic arms trained by humans and augmented reality goggles, showing that their aim is to standardise, measure and discipline human work rather than replace it. Despite its innovation, Amazon will always need living labour's flexibility and low cost. And as the warehouse is increasingly automated, worker discontent increases. Striking under the banner 'we are not robots', employees have shown that they are acutely aware of such contradictions. The only question remains: how long will it be until Amazon's empire collapses?

This book demonstrates to managers the strategic significance of intra-organizational social networks. It argues that strategic management is embedded in the complexity of social relations that shape the strategic direction of a company. Currently there are few tools available to systematically collect information about the social functioning of an organization. This book fills this gap by shifting attention to the social relations that contribute to strategic advantage and that build on relationships that provide unique resources and create value for the business. It considers three perspectives on how social networks have a strategic function: first, social networks constitute everyday strategic action; second, social networks convey cultural meanings; and third, how social networks depict social processes that continually illustrate what the organization is and what it can become. The book shows top and upper-middle management how cultivating an understanding of intra-firm social relations can help them to build unique strategic advantage and make use of the day-to-day knowledge that emerges in the social connections and interactions within an organization.

There has been growing interest on business models among academics and practitioners in recent years, as business model describes how an organization creates, distributes and captures value and, therefore, can be considered the DNA of the organization. Recently, factors related to digital transformation, the vital role of sustainability and social aspects, along with an increasing globalization, have pushed towards radical transformations in business models. This book aims to further our knowledge on business model innovation in new contexts of analysis and with new perspectives of investigation. Insights from business model innovation are presented from studies focusing on start-ups, small businesses and large businesses to provide a bigger picture on new dynamics connected to digital transformation, sustainability, new global relationships. As such, the scope is on new ways to create value, new components and dynamics (such as digitalization and sustainability) concerning the key elements of the business model (value creation, value configuration and value capture), and new relationships between actors that may foster business model innovation. It represents a valuable resource for practitioners willing to innovate business models, academics aiming at finding new research lines, and students keen to learn more about business models.

Grounded in solid research, " Social Media in the Public Sector" explores the myriad uses of social media in the public sector and combines existing practices with theories of public administration, networked governance, and information management. Comprehensive in scope, the book includes best practices, the strategic, managerial, administrative, and procedural aspects of using social media, and explains the theoretical dimensions of how social behavior affects the adoption of social media technologies.

Praise for "Social Media in the Public Sector"

"Mergel has produced a foundational work that combines the best kind of scholarship with shoe-leather reporting and anthropology that highlights the debates that government agencies are struggling to resolve and the fruits of their efforts as they embrace the social media revolution. "Social Media in the Public Sector" is a first and sets a high standard against which subsequent analysis will be measured."

--Lee Rainie, director, Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

"Mergel is an award-winning author who again wields her story skills in this book. She excels in explaining in concrete, practical terms how government managers can use social media to serve the public. Her book puts years of research into one handy guide. It's practical. It's readable. And it's an essential read."

--John M. Kamensky, senior fellow, IBM Center for The Business of Government

"Mergel moves beyond the hype with detailed, comprehensive research on social media technologies, use, management, and policies in government. This book should be required reading for researchers and public managers alike."

--Jane Fountain, professor and director, National Center for Digital Government, University of Massachusetts Amherst

"Comprehensive and compelling, "Social Media in the Public Sector" makes the case that to achieve Government 2.0, agencies must first adopt Web 2.0 social technologies. Mergel explains both how and why in this contemporary study of traditional institutions adopting and adapting to new technologies."

--Beth Simone Noveck, United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer (2009-2011)

Create Focused Social Media Campaigns Tailored to Your Business Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing takes readers through a 360-degree perspective of social media marketing in businesses, from strategy to tactics, from organic to paid, from B2B to B2C, encompassing all of the current networks. Topics include: Why businesses need to embrace social media marketing Understanding today's social networks from big ones like Facebook and YouTube to emerging platforms Learning how to craft your business's social media strategy using today's formats How to leverage images and video in your social media outreach Leveraging chat bots, paid social media, and influencer marketing Building your business social marketing team Measure your social media outreach progress and improve your performance over time

Call to Action includes the information businesses need to know to achieve dramatic results from online efforts. Are you planning for top performance? Are you accurately evaluating that performance? Are you setting the best benchmarks for measuring success? How well are you communicating your value proposition? Are you structured for change? Can you achieve the momentum you need to get the results you want? If you have the desire and commitment to create phenomenal online results, then this book is your call to action.

Within these pages, New York Times best-selling authors Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg walk you through the five phases that comprise web site development, from the critical planning phase, through developing structure, momentum, and communication, to articulating value. Along the way, they offer advice and practical applications culled from their years of experience "in the trenches."

Emerging technologies offer a plethora of unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs in the digital space. Understanding this evolution is essential for web-based business models to succeed. The Web 3.0 economy is here, and this book has arrived to serve as your guide. Technologies for Modern Digital Entrepreneurship is an in-depth look at the new developments of the digital economic system. Cryptocurrencies, Central Bank Digital Currencies, and Stable Coins are explained through timely case studies, as well as innovations in crowdfunding, educational marketplaces, and scalability in blockchain-based transactions. Author Dr. Abeba N. Turi expertly navigates the industry transition from platform-based centralized Web 2.0 economy to the distributed network economy. Turi additionally explores trust and reputation as currency in the digital economy and allays common fears in digital entrepreneurship such as mistrust by investors and intellectual property loss. Avoid falling behind your competitors in the Wild West that is modern digital entrepreneurship. Whether you are a business leader, a technology enthusiast, or a researcher in the field, Technologies for Modern Digital Entrepreneurship gives you the advantage of insightful knowledge using real data and meaningful examples. Amid global regulatory changes and the ever-shifting methods of digital entrepreneurship, our modern era demands this book. What You Will Learn Discover new trends in the digital economic system Comprehend the crowd-based digital business models Analyze the distributed information network economy Understand the workings of the currency system under the Web 3.0 economy, including Cryptocurrencies, Central Bank Digital Currencies, and Stable Coins Who This Book Is ForTechnology enthusiasts, tech and interdisciplinary students, digital business leaders, and researchers in the field

Combine social media with traditional marketing techniques for breakthrough results!

While social media is doing much to change the marketing landscape, it doesn't mean you have to take an either/or approach between it and more traditional methods. "And the Clients Went Wild!" gives you the tools to take an eclectic approach and pick the best, most wildly successful marketing methods--traditional, online, or both--to win at a given marketing goal. And, whether by means of Facebook, Twitter, streaming video, or by old-fashioned word of mouth, public relations, or personal sales skill, the goal is to win, right?Find real-life examples of success from some of today's best businessesShows how to integrate and benefit from both traditional and new marketing methodsUses the proven business growth strategy Red Zone Marketing(R) as a central conceptAuthor has proven the concepts successful in her work for numerous major clients

Don't throw out tried and true marketing techniques just for the sake of the new. Do what works! Perfect your marketing mix and win with "And the Clients Went Wild!"

Search Engine Optimization and Marketing: A Recipe for Success in Digital Marketing analyzes the web traffic for online promotion that includes search engine optimization and search engine marketing. After careful analysis of the nuances of the semantic web, of search engine optimization (SEO), and its practical set up, readers can put their best foot forward for SEO setup, link-building for SERP establishment, various methods with requisite algorithms, and programming codes with process inferences. The book offers comprehensive coverage of essential topics, including: * The concept of SEM and SEO * The mechanism of crawler program concepts of keywords * Keyword generation tools * Page ranking mechanism and indexing * Concepts of title, meta, alt tags * Concepts of PPC/PPM/CTR * SEO/SEM strategies * Anchor text and setting up * Query-based search While other books are focused on the traditional explanation of digital marketing, theoretical features of SEO and SEM for keyword set up with link-building, this book focuses on the practical applications of the above-mentioned concepts for effective SERP generation. Another unique aspect of this book is its abundance of handy workarounds to set up the techniques for SEO, a topic too often neglected by other works in the field. This book is an invaluable resource for social media analytics researchers and digital marketing students.

Originally published by Stevenson, Inc., this practical resource provides strategies for nonprofit organizations to connect with more volunteers through their websites. It includes proven techniques for tailoring a website to meet volunteers' needs and provides examples of effective website features from a variety of organizations. Important topics covered include: * Essential elements of a volunteer website * How to target baby boomer volunteers * How an online conferencing system helps bridge the gap * Boost online contact through social media * Ways to offer virtual volunteering opportunities * Launching a Facebook page * How online training can streamline orientation * How volunteer blogs promotes communication * Online publications * How to increase website usage * Virtual volunteer projects * Useful online tools * Recruiting virtual volunteers * Migrating existing volunteer programs online Please note that some content featured in the original version of this title has been removed in this published version due to permissions issues.

Dive straight into hot Fire phone features you won't find in any other device - like Firefly, Mayday, and Dynamic Perspective - with this concise hands-on guide. You probably already know how to make calls, text, and take photos with Amazon's new phone, but where it really shines is in innovative features you've never even seen before. This intuitive, easy-to-follow book opens a world of possibilities with the Fire phone, right out of the box. Instantly identify and order just about any product with Firefly - from DVDs, CDs, and books (or their electronic equivalents) to nearly anything else with a barcode Use Mayday to get live, hands-on tech support and customer service right on your phone Immerse yourself in 3D games, maps, and apps with the Dynamic Perspective sensor system Navigate easily with new one-handed (and no-handed!) gestures found only on Fire phone

E-Manufacturing: Business Paradigms and Supporting Technologies opens with a set of interesting selections from invited authors, covering perspectives such as concurrent engineering in product and process design, the tools needed to deal with people, relationships and networks, enterprise networking in Europe. This section closes with business and innovation topics, handling issues such as knowledge, innovation and investment, and joint ventures for innovation and competitiveness. The remaining parts of the book tackle the following e-manufacturing issues: advanced logistics, mechatronics, manufacturing systems integration and supporting technologies.

This volume serves to recognize the uniqueness of the moment; the number of new users of e-services worldwide will double during 2015-2018 (moving from 2 billion users mostly living in the developed nations to an additional 2 billion users mostly living in developing nations). This radical embrace of new e-service technologies will substantially improve the quality of lives for most residents globally. A profound happening occurring now! The new technologies combine rapidly delivering of a multitude of services at extremely low cost to adopters now having extremely low incomes relative to residents living in developed nations. Adoption of e-service among residents in developing nations ends the debate as to whether or not marketing to the "bottom of the pyramid" is possible. The more relevant issues focus on describing and explaining e-service adoption processes in developing nations. How are these processes being implemented? What obstacles had to be overcome in achieving these adoptions? How were these obstacles overcome? Read this volume for research providing useful answers to these questions.

The goal of this book is to gain a clear picture of the current status and future challenges with regard to the digitalization of the supply chain - from the perspective of the suppliers, the manufacturers, and the customers. They were the target groups of the book. Digitization has touched upon all aspects of businesses, including supply chains. Technologies such as RFID, GPS, and sensors have enabled organizations to transform their existing hybrid (combination of paper-based and IT-supported processes) supply chain structures into more f lexible, open, agile, and collaborative digital models. Unlike hybrid supply chain models, which have resulted in rigid organizational structures, unobtainable data, and disjointed relationships with partners, digital supply chains enable business process automation, organizational flexibility, and digital management of corporate assets. In order to reap maximum benefits from digital supply chain models, it is important that companies internalize it as an integral part of the overall business model and organizational structure. Localized disconnected projects and silo-based operations pose a serious threat to competitiveness in an increasingly digital world. The technologies discussed in this text - artificial intelligence, 3D printing, Internet of things, etc. - are beginning to come together to help digitize, automate, integrate, and improve the global supply chains. It's certainly an exciting and challenging time for both new supply chain professionals and long-time supply chain professionals.

Expert advice on growing your professional service firm or individual practice through social media

Showing professionals and their marketers how to accomplish familiar marketing tactics in newer, ways, "Social Media for Professionals and Their Firms" takes you step by step in putting social media to work for your professional practice. Whether you want to build your own on-line reputation, or are ready to explore new media for corporate marketing and communications, this book is the definitive guide for your strategic approach.Explores why the fastest and most leveragable way to expand relationships today is through the InternetProvides step-by-step approaches to successful professional bloggingDiscusses high-level strategies for effectively using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and bookmarking sitesIncludes pitfalls and success stories featuring notable social media trailblazers

Timely and practical, this book shows you why new media is rapidly becoming the core way for professionals to reach their audiences. Whether your firm provides legal, accounting, financial planning, architecture, consultancy, or other services, "Social Media Strategies for Professionals and Their Firms" will show you ways to better reach and communicate with your customers.

Fast track route to developing effective and profitable e-strategies for organizations.

Covers all the key techniques for development of a coherent and effective e-strategy for an organization. Guidelines and roadmaps from some of the worlds leading thinkers on a subject that can determine the success or failure of a business.

Examples and lessons from some of the world's most successful businesses, including eBay, General Electric and Richard Branson's Virgin, plus ideas from the smartest thinkers, including Michael Porter, Thomas Hagal and Patricia Seybold.

Includes a glossary of key concepts and a comprehensive resources guide

The complete guide to a winning pay-per-click marketing campaign

Pay-per-click advertising-the "sponsored results" on search engine results pages-is increasingly being used to drive traffic to websites. Marketing and advertising professionals looking for a hands-on, task-based guide to every stage of creating and managing a winning PPC campaign will get the step-by-step instruction they need in this detailed guide.

Using the popular "An Hour A Day" format, this book helps you avoid the pitfalls and plan, develop, implement, manage, and monitor a PPC campaign that gets results.Successful pay-per-click campaigns are a key component of online marketingThis guide breaks the project down into manageable tasks, valuable for the small-business owner as well as for marketing officers and consultantsExplains core PPC concepts, industry trends, and the mechanics that make a campaign workShows how to perform keyword research, structure campaigns, and understand campaign settings and various pricing modelsDiscusses how to write ads, develop and test landing pages, use ad groups, and leverage Google's content networkCovers launching a campaign, bidding for position, monitoring, gathering results, and interpreting and acting on the data collected

"Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing: An Hour a Day" provides the tools to make the most of this important marketing method.

Competition policy debates on digital platform markets are often premised on the idea that market fragmentation and the standard forces of competition and entry may provide a potential solution to excessive concentration and market power. In this work, Francesco Ducci provides readers with a different perspective based on the theoretical lens of natural monopoly. Ducci explores this framework through the development of three case studies on horizontal search, e-commerce marketplaces, and ride-hailing platforms, investigating the strength and limit of potential (and often heterogeneous) sources of natural monopoly at play in each industry. Building on these case studies, the book then derives from the application of the natural monopoly framework general policy implications for digital industries by identifying the respective institutional flaws and shortcomings of ex ante and ex post approaches to market power as one of the central challenges in digital platform markets.

Gathering the outcomes of the 27th annual international eTourism conference ENTER2020, this book presents new research, innovative systems and industry case studies on the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in travel and tourism. It shares the latest findings discussed at the conference and highlights various topics within the field, including social media, destination marketing, recommender systems and decision-making, virtual and augmented reality, technology in tourism, and research on hotels and activities. Readers will find a wealth of state-of-the-art insights and ideas on how information and communication technologies can be applied in travel and tourism.