It is like what Van Jones called the “invisible network of networks.” Everyone who is in it (and some who stand outside it) know it is there, but they just aren’t sure how to define it, or what shape it takes.

In a new book, The Gort Cloud, branding expert Richard Seireeni takes a stab at capturing the moving target of social networks, sustainability, and green business and captures it with the perfect metaphor — a cloud. But Seireeni doesn’t use any old cloud for his metaphor, the book gets its name from an amorphous field of stellar debris called the Oort Cloud. Seireeni writes:

“I began to think of this particular green network as something tangible with a mission and with a collective membership of like-mined people. It wasn’t a single community. It wasn’t a movement, It defied easy definition.”

Named after the astronomer Jan Hendrick Oort, who originally theorized the stellar cloud’s existence, the Oort Cloud is totally invisible to human observation, which Seireeni argues makes it perfectly analogous to the green network which has so much impact on the success/failure of green brands. He writes:

“This seems to perfectly describe the Gort Cloud, a vast green network made up of untidy bits that is most easily detected through electronic means and that has a huge effect on the evolution of green business.”

“Think of it as a giant green Rolodex”

Taking a page from Clay Shirkey’s 2008 analysis of activism 2.0, Here Comes Everybody, Seireeni Steers his first book in a decidedly “green” direction, focusing on the companies that have had the most success building a green brand, and the various groups of players that helped them get there. And that’s where you come in.

Just by reading this review, you have—whether you know it or not—entered the Gort Cloud.

Some components of the green network Seireeni writes about are Providers (good and services); Rule Makers and Watchdogs (NGOs, Gov’t Agencies); Advocacy Groups; Special Interests; Information Disseminators; Social Networks, and; In-Person Exchanges (conferences, tradeshows, etc.). “Successful green marketing comes from the inside and works out”

Mixing cases studies of such perennial green brands as Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps and Vermont ice cream makers Ben & Jerry’s with newer companies like Tesla Motors and recent converts like the carpet-tile manufacturer Interface Inc., Seireeni’s case studies are rich and full of detail.

Venturing into the world of “trendspotters” like TreeHugger and Inhabitat (among many other blogs and green networks) Seireeni approaches the difficult task of writing a book about the dynamic world of the green web 2.0 by fully recognizing that: A) some of his subjects may not even exist by the time the book goes to print (as is the case with Treehugger’s hugg.com), and; B) some of his subjects may not exactly fit into their given categories come printing time.

From an academic perspective, I found the Gort Cloud to be a bit under-theorized, especially in terms of how trendspotters, bloggers and social media mavens communicate with each other and with the “outside” world. But, considering the book was not written for an academic audience, this may be as much a strength as it is a weakness.

Finally, while the impact of twitter may not have been mentioned explicitly (quite understandably) in Seireeni’s treatment of the world of communicating in green networks, there is no reason to believe that it wouldn’t map perfectly onto the Gort Cloud platform. If anything, twitter might even epitomize it! And that is what makes the book a worthy contribution to the green marketing and web 2.0 canon.

This review was adapted from my a piece published at sustainablog. Learn more about the book at The Gort Cloud website.

Reprinted with permi?ssion from Earth & Industry