One of the “joys” of spending so much time on the road is being able to catch up on reading and I’d been meaning to read Shama Hyder Kabani’s (Picture left)  “The Zen of Social Media” for a while. When I finally got around to it, I wasn’t disappointed.

Subtitled “An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz and Increase Revenue”, the book opens with a foreword by Chris Brogan and then focuses on social media from a business perspective. The final chapter looks at a number of case studies, which is a useful way of seeing the practical application of the content covered in the main part of the book.

The book is clear, straightforward and focuses on the usual suspects – Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Even for someone like me who is a little jaded by the vast amount of social media literature out there, the book contains a lot of useful tips, enough to keep me reading until the end – no mean feat!

The book also contains a guest chapter on the increasing importance of video blogging which is one of the best treatments of the subject I have read.

I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about using social media to increase their revenue and to consultants as it provides an integrated roadmap.

Just the kind of thing to ask your kids or other relatives or friends to buy you for Christmas when you are desperately searching for ideas!

At the end of each chapter in Brian Solis’s book, The End of Business as usual, is a bullet-pointed list headed “Centers of Attention”.

The list at the end of he fourth chapter, with the wonderful title “The Attention Deficit Crises and Information Scarcity” is so thought provoking that I’ve reproduced it below. I’ve added a few comments in brackets where clarification may be needed for those who have not read the chapter.

1. Each update (Tweet etc) requires thoughtfulness based on our desired audiences.

2. In the near future, deliberate curation in how we weave our networks will improve our experiences.

3. Developing a sense of intimacy over the internet can create a void in one-on-one interaction.

4. Social Graphs are an extension of media networks.

5. We are creating syndication networks around us, bringing degrees of separation in life, not just by who we know, but who we’re connected to.

6. People feel that if they shut off their attention to social networks, they become disconnected from their life.

7. We were not, and in many ways are still not, conditioned for social networking – we are all learning together.

8. Social Physics: Social networking causes a measurable increase in the velocity of information and interaction, in both directions, resulting in a change in the position of any object.

9. According to research, we are becoming wired for distraction.

10. With intentional, timed , distractions, we are potentially much more productive than succumbing to social networks without governance.

11. Social media amplifies the noise, but it’s your job to amplify the signal.

12. At the moment there are 3 classes of consumers: traditional, online and social/connected.

13. Competing for attention and relevance is the foundation for success in engagement.

Which of these do you agree with, disagree with or find thought provoking?

What do I think of the book?

It cuts through so much of the fluffy thinking about social media and looks at the topic from a business context. It also lays bare the myth that social media is an end in itself – it’s a tool, no more, no less. It’s up to the user to determine how useful or otherwise it is. I recommend it strongly and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I’m sometimes asked to recommend a book on social media and social networking and thought I’d post a few ideas from some of the social media experts here; these are all books that I’ve read in the last 12 months!

	Trust Agents – Chris Brogan, Julien Smith This is in some ways similar to Penny’s book in that the focus is clearly on creating trust.  Because trust is key to building social media reputations, the authors define those who understand the value of, and set out to create, trust as “trust agents.” It’s a mixture of the theoretical and the practical and is well worth a read, if only because it is written by authors with over 10 years of online social media experience
	Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me – Penny Power Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me is different from the other three social media books. She uses her experience as a co-founder of ecademy (I often describe this as my ‘base’ on the internet)  and the trials and tribulations it went through to make important points about her belief that social media offers a better way for business people to meet, connect and help one another solve problems and expand their businesses. It is written in a warm, very personal style and is a great read. If you want a book that goes into details about how to make use of the many social media tools out there, Mitch Joel’s book would make a great companion read to Penny’s book.
	Crush it – Gary Vaynerchuk I am a huge fan of Gary V., of what he has done for the wine industry and for his business and of the way he uses video blogging, the new kid on the social media block. I have to confess that for me, what makes him so good at video blogging, his speed of delivery, his enthusiasm, his ‘flow’, doesn’t come over so well in the book. That said, the checklist in appendix a is worth the price of the book alone, for those who are new to social media or who what to make sure that they have covered everything.
	Six Pixels of Separation – Mitch Joel Whilst I have listed the books in no particular order, this is my favourite of the four when it comes to social media’how to’.  It’s a great book written in a relaxed style that covers everything you would want to know about social media, and more! Mitch emphasises that he is not a technical person, he is just one of us. It takes on an ambitious task, to unify the concepts of Personal Branding, Digital Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and achieves it in a clear, fun and provocative manner. Full of  case studies to illustrate the points he makes, this book offers a complete set of social media tools, tactics and insights to empower individuals to reach a global audience and consumer base with a few clicks of the mouse, and almost all of them for free.

Social Media Books – Recommendations

So, my recommendations? I enjoyed all four and think anyone wanting to find oute  about more about social media will benefit from reading any or all of them. And recommending books is always difficult as it’s so much a matter of personal preference and each of these books has much to offer.

All of the books are written in easy to read styles offering examples of best practice for everyone to emulate.

Mitch Joel – Full of Social Media Tools, Tactics and Insights

However, if I had to make a recommendation, it would be to buy Mitch Joel’s book and if you want to add a semi-autobiographical account from a woman who’s been there, read Penny’s too. Then get on the internet and watch Gary V’s videocasts and hop over to Chris Brogan’s blog (one of my favourite blogs) for a full set!

However, to repreat what I wrote above, any and all of these books make a great read for the social media afficianado, as are the authors’ blogs each of which features in my list of favourites.