True word of mouth is more than creating a viral video or launching a buzz campaign.

True word of mouth emanates from a grassroots-driven community that inspires passion and customer evangelism. It's a sustainable, long-term form of word of mouth that can build brands. There's countless ways to think about making that happen, which is part of the challenge.

That's why Jackie and I are introducing the Society for Word of Mouth.

The purpose of SWOM is two-fold: to be a free social network for the individual
true believers of word of mouth (or the merely curious who seek enlightenment), and to be a
premium educational resource for cooking word of mouth into the DNA of an organization.

We believe SWOM might be ideal for change agents inside organizations who are working hard to incorporate word of mouth into products or operations, as well as educators, account managers, consultants and creative directors who are looking for research or peer support in helping students or clients understand that word of mouth can be more than a series of tactics.

SWOM is a bottom-up effort to make word of mouth more than just a form of marketing, but to build it into a belief system. To create a world of -- forgive us -- word-of-mouth Swomies.

The social network is available now; in the weeks and months ahead, we'll introduce webinars, educational
materials and training opportunities. Plus, we'll host in-person
events that we think will be pretty fun.

We hope that you will help us build a community of Swomies who support and help each other with their businesses. Take a look, sign up and tell us what you think.

A quick reminder, too: Jackie and I will be hanging out at SXSW for the next few days at some panels and parties. If you're there, say hi.