From Patricia Seeley:

Israel offers stories of how various businesses have used, or not used, Twitter and how Twitter has given strategic advantage to those businesses savvy enough to become part of the Twitterville global community.

Using Twitter, on a moment-to-moment basis, companies can learn what customers are saying about them, both good and bad, and respond instantly to these concerns.  Imagine being able to turn a customer complaint into a customer rave all at the rate of 140 characters a message.  This is what Twitter can do for a business and on which Twitterville offers advice and guidance.

In Twitterville, Israel shares vignettes of companies, both large (Comcast, Mayo Clinic) and small (Coffee Groundz, Seesmic), who jumped on the Twitter bandwagon early and improved customer communications and service as a result.  He also offers cautionary tales of companies, such as U-Haul, who have not taken advantage of this new social media and may be suffering the consequences. 

By the end of the book - possibly before - readers will be on Twitter signing their companies up to join the global conversation, if they are not there already.  “It is very smart to join Twitterville and establish your credibility before your company’s reputation depends on it,” writes Israel.  Companies may be wise to believe him.

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Patricia Seeley is a freelance writer, jeweler, and artisan.  You're invited to follow her on Twitter @oceantiki.