IntroductionThe “groundswell,” a term now used for online social technologies, such as blogs, social networking sites like MySpace, and user-generated sites like YouTube. and many other online communities now common across the web, has a significant impact on the way many organizations conduct their marketing strategies. These online social networking sites have allowed power to shift from businesses to customers. This transfer of power is described as “customer-centric”. Businesses can no longer rely on their perception of what customers want or how they want the customer to perceive their organization, or their products and services. Customers now ban each other through the many social networking sites now available online and often post their bad experiences with a product or service they received from a particular company. This leaves many organizations scrambling and requires them to find new ways to deal with these issues before things get out of hand. Many managers are uncomfortable with this new change and very fearful of the loss of control they are experiencing, while other managers and companies have adopted the "groundswell" and are implementing new and innovative ways to take advantage of online social networks. a way to promote and market their products and services at a very low cost, while benefiting from high visibility. They also form a strategic framework for developing and implementing social applications appropriate to the needs of their organizations. Social applications that some companies implement to achieve various business goals within different departments include:1. Research and development... middle of paper ...... and consumer applications are very effective and are becoming essential for businesses to reach their maximum potential. Social apps generate more accurate search insights, expand marketing reach, boost sales efforts, and reduce support costs. The potential customer relationship benefits that social apps can offer are too compelling for businesses to deny. Although the groundswell can carry its share of risks, engaging in it is the best way to promote a “customer-centric” philosophy within a company. This creates a more direct, two-way contact relationship between a business and consumers. It also provides managers with direct evidence of what customers think and feel. As the balance of power shifts from the enterprise to the customer, it becomes contagious for companies to engage in substantive consumer applications..