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I took a few hours this past weekend and read through Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms The Way We Live and Do Business by Erik Qualman (Wiley, 2009). 
The book was just published about a month ago, and I was looking forward to reading it. This was another one I was carrying around for the past few weeks, but hadn’t yet had a chance to open.
It was a fast read- taking me about 2.5 hours total. One thing that struck me was how catchy the individual chapter titles were, for example, “What Happens in Vegas Stay on YouTube.”- the word construction was interesting and intriguing, and made me want to read more.
Overall, I experienced the book as entertaining, but I can’t say that I learned anything new. If you’ve been reading other books on social media, many of the examples and case studies referenced in this book will be familiar to you.
What this book does have is more recent examples- such as United Breaks Guitars, which is only a few months old.
The author was very careful to highlight that social media is changing rapidly, and that some of his examples or referenced URLs might be out of date by the time the book was printed. This did adequately convey the rate of change and fast pace of social media.
The book is written in a series of case studies and soundbites. There were definitely many quotable phrases- ones that you could repeat and sound profound. It was definitely a bird’s eye type view on social media, which seemed familiar to me, somehow, from other social media books I’ve already read.
What I liked best about the book was that it did try to make social media accessible to the reader. It was based on some interesting findings and research pulled from other sources. It did present the information in an engaging and entertaining way.
I tend to prefer to read social media books which teach me something or move me to think more deeply about social media strategy and tools. What I found in this book was that, rather than learning much new, I was more entertained- and, also, had many of my ideas validated. This was nice, but I was hoping for something more revelatory.
If you are looking for more specific or advanced social media strategy or tools, this might not be the right book for you. As I said, it presented some entertaining examples and a good broad view, but didn’t seem to provide too many specific strategies or tools you could use immediately.
But if you are looking to add to your general knowledge of social media, or are looking for books which provide you a broad overview of social media, this book may be a good fit for you.
Get Your Copy of Socialnomics from Amazon
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I had a couple hours free this morning and was finally able to read through my copy of Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith (Wiley, 2009.) I had been carrying my copy of the book around for weeks, so was finally glad to get a chance to read it.
I enjoyed reading it. The style was conversational and easy to follow. The book made good use of examples from various areas (leaning heavily towards video game analogies and examples), with a good dose of personal anecdote and experience from each author in there as well.
What pleased me the most about this book is that the concepts and principles Brogan & Smith discuss such as being helpful, being seen as “one of us”, sharing value first, and using your growing networks to connect people more fully with each other- these are all concepts I agree with and try to model in my social network participation.
I also liked the reminder about applying leverage and the focus on findings ways to accomplish your goals easier and faster. As an early adopter of technology, I was glad to get support for the idea that early adopters tend to have advantages over people who adopt new technology later.
The book is about 250 pages, and, as I said, is easy to read. I was able to finish it in just about two hours, reading straight through. The book is filled with “action sidebars” which provide the reader some strategies for applying the book’s concepts to their own lives or businesses.
What I liked best about the book was being reminded that building influence takes time, but is so worth it. I studied the theory of social capital pretty extensively in graduate school, and social media is really about building and benefiting from social capital.
Social capital is not exactly the same as money in the bank, but it is a form of currency. Brogan & Smith remind us that every favor extended is eventually repaid. So, to the extent you can assist people in reaching their goals, understand how your actions ripple out into the pool of your contacts, and focus on building value in every exchange, you’re on your way to becoming a trust agent.
Get Your Copy of Trust Agents from Amazon
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