Posts Tagged: Books
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, November 13th, 2008
When I chose this book to review for the Mini Book Expo for Bloggers I expected it to be about, what else? – building on line communities.
The book (written by Paul Born President and Co-Founder of Tamarack an institute for community engagement) in actual fact is about building communities in the real world and what became apparent to me when reading it is there are many parallels between building real life communities that make a difference and building them online.
The book starts with a poignant example of a community organisation that was built, against all the odds, amid war torn Belfast and successfully brought the 2 sides in the conflict together because they opened the channels to allow each side to converse.
Born, lists four building blocks to successful community conversations: Conversing, Engaging, Collaborating and Vision. It is interesting to note that these same key pillars are pivotal in building social media communities too.
In the second part of the book, the author focuses on examples of successful community conversations and the techniques used to make them so. He points out that conversation cafes are great to stimulate discussion and can be conducted online. Peer to peer discussions (no not the technical kind but real peers brainstorming and stimulating discussions with other) can get the collective juices flowing (I see this happening on Twitter all the time). And finally, using visual stimulants, movies and photos to encourage conversation works really well.
Whilst not exactly the book I was expecting, I was surprised to find so many valuable ideas and practices that apply to the virtual world and can easily be adapted to stimulate conversation online. Perhaps next time I should read the book synopsis more closely but for now I am glad I didn’t – I would have missed this gem.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, August 20th, 2008
As someone who can fritter away hours on Google analytics looking at web traffic patterns and trying to understand them, I was over the moon when the opportunity arose to review a book for the Mini Book Expo for Bloggers about just that.
Click – Unexpected Insights For Business and Life by Bill Tancer takes a very close look at online patterns: specifically what millions of people search for online and turns up a number of unexpected and interesting parallels.
Bill is the general manager of global research at Hitwise, a company specializing in online competitive intelligence and as such has vast amounts of data available at his disposal on how and where people click. He loves finding patterns and predicting outcomes, some of which he shares in the book and, as I found out, he has an uncanny knack at uncovering search habits one wouldn’t expect.
Did you know, for example, that searches for “Prom Dresses” peak early in the year or that on-line sports gamblers like to play poker in the close season. These are some of the first discoveries Tancer discusses in the book. He goes on to analyze celebrity addiction and what we really fear as opposed to what we say we fear. Tancer makes the valuable point that people are more transparent and honest when they search online. They see it as a forum providing anonymity and are therefore more comfortable using online search to find out about touchy subjects than they would be face to face or in “real life”. By tracking who searches for what, where they click and when, patterns emerge that tell us a lot about the habits of our society and the way we use both traditional and new technology.
As a fan of the Arctic Monkeys, it was interesting to find out that Bill was able to track their meteoric rise to fame through as small number of “super connectors” spreading the word in MySpace and that TV also plays a major role in driving online traffic patterns.
This book is full of case studies and interesting anecdotes and has many gems of information such as the fact that Pareto’s 80/20 rules doesn’t apply online where 1-9-90 one does: 90 percent of people online are lurkers, 9 percent are intermittent contributers and 1 percent active collaborators. A kick in the teeth to the web 2.0 ideal of everyone participating.
As an Internet marketer, this book is invaluable and effectively displays the value of data mining online to hone in on your target audience but its not simply a book for the internet or marketing professional. It provides an entertaining analysis of online habits written in laymen terms that would be applicable and valuable to anyone interested in the habits of our society.
Thanks to Hyperion and the Mini Book Expo for the advanced reading copy of this book and especially to Bill for sharing his insights. I look forward to more in the Hitwise blog.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, April 29th, 2008
Spring is still threatening to visit us in Vancouver, the birds are chirping and new media moves along at a swift pace. This months reasons to be cheerful also include:
Plaxo Pulse – I’ve avoided Plaxo like the plague since using it a few years ago on a client project and having it constantly crash so I was skeptical when a friend invited me to join Pulse. I have to say though it seems that the Plaxo team have been working away to develop a real alternative to professional networks like LinkedIn and to integrate other social media sites.
Ever on the search for the right accounting package, I recently met with LedgersOnline a local firm specializing on online bookkeeping solutions. Could this be the one?
Goodboog is another local offering that provides an on-line catalogue designed to facilitate the promotion of products and services online in 25 different languages.
Send e-mail to the future with Time Machiner.
Okay the last one is rather whimsical – it is spring after all.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, March 17th, 2008
Facebook hysteria is hitting new heights. The media is abuzz with Facebook horror stories, sensationalized stories of how Facebook can threaten our very existence.
Perhaps its the cynic in me but frankly this is just the next example in a long line of innovations that have been seen as threats by the mainstream. Even the phone was described as a tool of the devil when it was first introduced.
Why this hysteria ? Because, like all new ways of doing things it challenges what people perceive as the norm. Its a new way of doing things and in good human nature fashion we see it as a threat because its something new that we don’t yet understand.
Get with the programme peeps! Rather than viewing Facebook as something to be afeared of check it out yourself – go online and see what its all about.
You have a choice, no one is forcing you to have a Facebook profile or interact with people in that forum but before you go spouting off about what a threat it is to society understand what a social network is and the potential benefits of using one and first and foremost, use your common sense.
Here are some common sense tips to bear in mind on social networks.
1. Every one of these sites has privacy settings that individual users can apply. Before doing anything in these forums, check what these are, the level of control you have and decide in advance how transparent you want to be. Use the privacy settings to your advantage.
2. Understand that yes, social networks do, by their very nature, cast a wide spotlight. Be aware if this and act accordingly (i.e. like the teacher in BC, don’t post naked pictures of yourself – thats just common sense).
3. Just like in the real world where there are things you wouldn’t do, online has the similar boundaries. Apply the same rules as you would in the virtual world. For example, don’t talk to strangers, don’t trust people you don’t know and don’t walk down the street naked.
4. Outline in advance your reasons to be on Facebook or other SNs. If it is to keep in touch with friends then only add friends you know in the real world. If you want to be a Facebook slut and add every one and anyone then be aware that every one and any one can see your personal details and use them accordingly.
5. Always think twice about what you post and do the Granny test. Be aware that once something is out there, its out there so stop and ask yourself is this appropriate do I want strangers to see it before you post anything. And never do anything rash in the spur of the moment.
6. Develop a policy for adding friends and stick with it. If you don’t think its appropriate (perhaps because of your profession) to add someone you know then tell them why and stick with your principles. Its a good thing to have principles and by standing by them people will only respect you more.
7. Never let Facebook consume your life (it can be tempting). Schedule time for it and use it as a tool – don’t let it use you.
A sensible approach to social networks should soon have you seeing the potential networking (both for business and for pleasure) benefits rather than the perceived unknown threat. Don’t get sucked in by the hype, keep the head – use your common sense and you should be good….
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, January 14th, 2008
This book is packed with great advice for people who want to live life to the full without being shackled to a normal work routine – he calls it joining the “new rich”. So why am I still here – you may ask?! (Perhaps its because I actually enjoy what I do and I already set my own hours). The author gave up on the daily working drudgery and apparently has ample income from a series of practically self performing products sold over the Internet. In the book he provides tips on how you can do the same – he even gives sample scripts for those looking to quit their jobs or work more on their terms (i.e. from home or fewer hours). The most useful part of the book is the chapter where he describes ways to reduce your daily load including assessing whether something is actually worth doing, out sourcing chunks of your work to others such as on-line assistants, book keepers and researchers like Assistu in North America or b2k Corp in India. They key is productivity – you have to analyse your tasks and ask if each conntributes back to your goals. If not then don’t do them. Now I am not about to run off to a Europe for 6 months but when I do, you can be sure I will have implemented some of the strategies in this book so that I can enjoy my trip and still make money at the same time!
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, December 11th, 2007
Always leading edge, Capulet Communications have done it again with the release of their new e-book Getting To First Base: A Social Media Marketing Playbook. I found the link to this little gem in my inbox this morning and I am looking forward to some excellent holiday reading as it promises tactics to drive more traffic, increase on-line visibility and viral effect, develop blogger relationships and market your offering effectively on Facebook. I’m already looking forward to the full length book.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, September 10th, 2007
As you may well know, back in June I was excited to participate in the mini book expo for bloggers.
I signed up and was sent the audio book Guerrilla PR Wired by David Levine. After the set back of discovering that the Iofy chip only worked on my MAC and not my iPod or phone as I had hoped, it took me some time to actually listen (after all, when I am at my desk I am usually working and its hard to find desk time to listen too!). Unfortunately, you can’t just stop the narrative wherever you like to review or recap which was a problem when the application crashed and I had to start again at the beginning of a chapter.
The narrative itself is easy to listen to and well laid out but I am not the target audience for this type of publication. The intended reader is a business person who is a beginner when it come to using the Internet – you know, one of those people that look like a dear caught in the headlights at the mere mention of the web marketing and for those people I would highly recommend it.
However, I did find some gems in the book pertaining to PR that will help Out-Smarts plan, set up and maintain a PR campaign. The book includes great tips on writing a PR piece (layout and format) and how to approach promoting them to the right publications and people. It covers guidance on your website design to support your campaign; learning how to understand the “media gatekeeper”; tactics to get your website publicized; strategies to help you continue to attract attention without becoming stale or overpowering as well as how to follow up on and maintain success; pitfalls you should be aware of and how to deal with negative P.R.. I did learn a thing or 2 about PR but overall this wasn’t the best publication for me. Thanks to the mini book expo for allowing us to participate though.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, July 31st, 2007
I see long tails all over the place these days. Its probably something to do with the book The Long Tail by Chris Anderson that I finished reading a while ago. A long tail market is one where the diverse needs of every consumer are met regardless of what makes them tick. I got to thinking about social networking and what happens once it goes beyond the masses. Will there eventually be social networks for every possible interest and segment of the population? Why not? the technology is there to do it and likely the demand too. I decided to do some research….
First everyone flocked to Facebook and MySpace – these are the popular “hit” services today with millions joining and interacting daily but change is afoot. I began to notice long tail applications within MS and FB such as the facebook dog club a social network for pooches (that incedentaly has over 270,ooo users) then I began to receive invites from other social networking applications aimed at niche segments such as Melcrum the social network for communicators, O’jeez the social network for entrepreneurs , and Naymz for professionals. Looking on Wikipedia for a list of social network I found 90 in categories ranging from football to gothic industrial culture.
Social networking is the perfect application to reach long tail maturity rapidly and I predict that today’s 90 social network sites will grow quickly to encompass corporate networking requirements as well as the networking needs of individuals no matter how diverse.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, July 19th, 2007
I thought I’d give you an update on the viral marketing book I am reviewing as part of the mini book expo for bloggers. The audio book came in the mail today – yippee! Unfortunately, I am not quite in the position to review the book “Guerilla PR Wired” yet. It comes in Iofy SD format but the SD doesn’t fit in my phone (mine takes a mini), I have an MP3 and not the supported iPod so I’m going to have to “listen” on my MAC – not exactly conducive for summertime beach listening is it? The blurb claims that Iofy chips and downloads are more convenient than CDs and cassettes but so far I’m not convinced: plain old paper is winning hands down right now in my view. More to follow in review when I get the chance to plant my bum at the MAC for 11 hours…..
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, July 13th, 2007
If you’ve been hanging around the blogosphere for any length of time you’ll probably have heard about Robert Scoble co-author of this book. I picked up the book because I had heard that he was a prolific blogger by night and a Microsoft employee by day. I new that he would have a story or two to relate about his blogging experiences and I was right.
Naked Conversations is a book that is written and structured well. It was easy to enjoy and doesn’t bog you down in technical jargon. It covers everything bus blog related from: what corporate blogging is all about and how to approach it (which companies should and shouldn’t blog); what types of blogs are out there; which companies do it well and which have failed miserably (and why). The book gives interesting anecdotes on companies that have harnessed blogging in different forums. It also looks at adoption rates across different parts of the world and considers why people have been fired for their blog posts.
This was a good read for me because its so pertinent to what I do. Much of the information contained therein wasn’t new to me but there were many nuggets of inspiration and anecdotes that I can draw on in my own business blog evangelism. I really appreciated the fact that it took on blogging from an alternative perspective from my own – that of the blogging well for blogging’s sake and the resulting positive business impact.
