I am a voracious reader and would re-arrange deadlines to finish a compelling book! However, I am not a book reviewer/critic so this list includes my quick top line thoughts, not full blown reviews, you can find a ton of them on Amazon. I will be adding to this list regularly, and I’m always looking for the next great book, so feel free to share your favorites in the comments below.

The links are affiliate links back to Amazon.

Happy reading!

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
This is a great, easy read for anyone interested in finding out more about social media who is looking for a good primer on the subject. You won’t find anything new in here if you or the person you are buying it for are familiar with social media channels. That being said, Brogan and Smith make social media sound so chimp simple, I do think everyone should read it.

Crush It Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, by Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk figured out how to take his personality and leverage social media tools to build his family’s retail wine business. At first I was a bit put off by his loud personality (you’ll “hear” it immediately when you start to read), but was won over by his work ethic. He’s 10,000 watts of entrepreneur. A great book for an entrepreneur, someone trying to build their personal brand or anyone even marginally interested in the how social media channels can help their small business.

The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited: Real Life Lessons in Word of Mouth Marketing, by Emanuel Rosen
I’ve heard Rosen speak at a couple of social media marketing seminars and he’s a marvelous story teller. This book continues in that tradition. This book was in the gift bag at the Word of Mouth Marketing Summit and I’m so glad that it was. A must read.

Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods, by Shel Israel
Again, like Emanuel Rosen, this is a guy who knows how to tell a story. Israel uses case studies to demonstrate how companies, many you’ll recognize, have leveraged Twitter to help their business explode.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, by Seth Godin
It’s hard to beat Godin’s thinking on social media and how unconventional leaders can achieve unexpected greatness. He makes a compelling arguement that there are groups of people, “tribes”, who are looking for leadership. So stand up and lead. He section titled, “Should They Build A Statue of You” is of particular interest.

Crowdsourcing, Why The Power of the Crowd is Driving The Future of Business, by Jeff Howe
Jeff Howe is genius. Although I have to admit, I have a bias toward just about any reporter from Wired magazine. Howe coined the phrase “crowdsourcing” back in 2006 and his book explores how the collective brain-trust of the many can frequently achieve much more than the specialized few. Great storytelling. I had to pry this one from my boyfriend’s hands so I could read it first.

PHOTO CREDIT: “Naughty Librarians” by CheeseBikini

Nina DiSesa is an incredibly witty writer and shares some hilarious anecdotes about working in a jungle full of arrogant (no judgment!) creative (their saving grace) men. As Chairman of McCann Erickson New York, DiSesa plays den mother, dabbles in S&M(only in the sweetest way), seduces and manipulates to get her boys to perform for McCann Erickson’s lucky clients. Her true genius is that she figures out a way for both sides to win.

Very intriguing book. Crowdsourcing describes the process of how the many can accomplish feats that were once only the province of the few. Jeff Howe, Wired magazine reporter, reports from the front lines of this revolution. A great read.

Presented at TWTRCON, May 31, 2009

Summary:
Current Twitter users are early adopters of technology, entertainment and emerging services. They are more likely to use social networks and Internet 2.0 technologies to stay connected and be informed. Most are eager to learn about new products and services. They are loyal users, with 70% likely to continue using Twitter. As such, Twitterers leverage the power of word of mouth and are a valuable audience.

1. Twitter users are super engaged consumers.

• Typical Twitterer is a technical or creative professional in their 30s, who tends to adopt new products or trends more quickly than others. Almost all are on other social networks, two thirds watch online video, read blogs, and play video games. Over half have HDTV, forty percent have DVRs and about a third have smartphones.

2. Consider it the Oprah effect—most of the U.S. knows about Twitter.

• Over three quarters of Internet users are aware of Twitter. While friends (43%) have driven greatest awareness, a whopping 35% heard about it through television. Other sources of awareness include websites (22%), social networks (18%) and family (17%).

3. What does Dr. Horrible, coffee, Tom’s Shoes, flowers and a Sony Vaio have in common?

• They were all purchased because of Twitter. 40% of Twitter users regularly search for products or services online via Twitter. About 20% follow at least one product or service. Specifically, 12% note they’ve chosen a service or bought a product online because of information they found on Twitter.

4. Is the social networking and Twitter phenomena half empty or half full?

• It depends on the user. While 44% believe that Twitter has long term value, 52% believe it’s a trend.

5. Brands beware! Use Twitter wisely!

• 40% of Twitterers note the way a brand utilizes Twitter affects their perception of the brand. Two thirds would use Twitter to communicate good or bad information about a brand.

6. Make social networkers loyal: Cues from Twitter: easy, fast, and well designed.

• Social networkers note community and friends as top reasons they’re spending more time on social networks. Variety of activities (46%), ease (39%), and speed (30%) are key.

7. Search and find most popular, multimedia not fully adopted.

• About half of all Twitterers are using search and find. Less than a quarter are updating to blogs, posting photos or posting videos.

8. Ashton vs. CNN: News actually trumps celebrities! (but not by much!)

• About half of all Twitterers are interested in news and entertainment. Other popular Twitter themes include politics, products and services, sports, celebrities and restaurants.

9. Social networks and Twitter: It’s not just about finding your old prom date.

• Two thirds of all social networkers use them to connect and communicate. However, about a quarter use them to follow news, play games or professionally network.

10. Smartphones: A Twitterer’s best friend.

• Twitterers are almost twice as likely to own smartphones than Internet users. Top two phones include BlackBerry (15%) and iPhone (10%). Twitter users have advanced mobile behavior: half take photos, a third go online and twenty percent play games regularly. About 25% of Twitter users update some type of social networking status regularly via their mobile phone.

From a thinktank research study of Internet, mobile and social networking users, fielded May 2009, n=1,850, twitter users, n=665. (For the full report, contact Robin Boyar at thinktank research. The full report is available for $495 or $995 with an in-person presentation)

2. Research, read, listen, and then engage.

3. Social media is collaborative, be a team player.

4. Imagine you are having the conversation over a nice glass of Romanee-Conti (and you don’t have to pay!)

5. Be personal.

6. Write about what is special to you. Share a personal story and bridge it back to your company in an appropriate way.

7. Be honest and transparent.

8. Posting anonymous comments on a blog is a big fat no no!

9. Be short and to the point quickly – 220 words or less is PLENTY. Any more is TMI!

10. Organize your thoughts before replying.

11. Cross link when appropriate.

12. Reference other links when you are posting information you found there.

13. Comment on blogs and forums, often…thoughtfully.

14. Comment on the comments you’ve received. Think of it as a conversation. If someone responded to you at a cocktail party, you wouldn’t stare blankly and remain mute. (although some comments, we have to agree, do warrant that response)

15. Don’t force yourself to participate in a community you don’t like.

16. Share your secrets…but not all of them.

17. Be yourself – If you are humorous, weave some in; if you have an acerbic wit, knock yourself out; serious? rock on.

18. Work on defining your own voice.

19. Collaboration is key, you’re not the only prodigy in the pod, be a peer.

20. Break your text up into small paragraphs, assume readers have A.D.D.

21. Use proper grammar, punctuation and spell check; but at the same time, you don’t need to be the next Bret Easton Ellis.

22. Don’t be fearful of making mistakes, we all mess up. Just write something already!

23. Be helpful and let people benefit from your experience and knowledge.

24. When someone asks a question, answer it first. You can build the trust and respect of your peers by posting on-topic replies.

25. You are the expert, be the resource that you know you are, but easy on the overt self-promotion.

26. Contact someone directly if you think there is business to be done, not publicly.

Now for the recommendation: Michelle MacPhearson is a rock star. She’s not our client and she wasn’t my college roommate (although she seems like fun) she’s straightforward and really likes to help people understand social media. And guess what, she actually knows what she’s talking about. Check her out: SocialMediaDaily

The San Francisco office is thankful that I’ve found an outlet for my frustration, they hope it’s going to reduce the expletives emerging from my office every time I receive a post about some junior level practitioner with an over inflated dose of self importance claiming to be a social media expert.

Next, I’ll post an article about how to determine who is an expert and who’s not.