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Posted Aug. 13, 2009 5:48 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Marketing - 800 CEO Read Blog
I had the opportunity to speak at Social Media University - Milwaukee a few weeks ago. Some of the follow-up email has been asking for the recommended reading list I gave out during my Blogging For Success session. Here the list and some reasons these are worth your time:
Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky - This is the big idea book; it's the one that examines social media from a sociological viewpoint with outstanding examples the reduced friction the Internet provides. Here is what we said in our Jack Covert Selects - "Technology allows more loosely formed groups to accomplish more complicated tasks to greater effect, whether sharing tips for hacking new features on iPhones or staging boycotts after complaints go unaddressed. The rules are changing and, as Shirky says, 'What the group does with that power is a separate question.'"
Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff - There is no question that this is the book to read if you are in a corporate environment. The book was written by two analysts from Forester Research that provides a framework that executives recognize and language that fits the Fortune 500. Download an excerpt of the book to get a feel for the book. There is also a new condensed version of the book called Marketing in the Groundswell which contains a new introduction and three chapters from the original book.
Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin - Seth's premise is pretty simple: most of the products and services are not designed to be used with the new tools and techniques that are available to marketers. The call for corporate blogs and the creation of viral videos leads to meatball sundaes. Seth wrote a great ChangeThis manifesto based on this idea called Marketing Mismatch: When New Won't Work With Old (Riffs on Meatball Sundae). I also did a podcast with Seth when the book came out.Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith - I am recommending this a bit on faith because the book comes out later this month. Chris is certainly one of the leading voices on social media and if you need proof go read this.
Say Everything by Scott Rosenberg - I recommended this specifically for my blogging session. Rosenberg is a journalist and writes about the evolution of blogging. He talks about the players who have shaped the medium (Heather Armstrong, Robert Scoble, Evan Williams, and Dave Winer to name just a few). It is a good book to catch up on what has been happening over the last decade. There are also excerpts from the book available on the book's website.The Twitter Book by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein is a simple book that teaches what you need to know about Twitter and also takes the next step providing tips for using the service to its full extent.
Books for Understanding Social Media
Posted June 5, 2009 7:51 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Information Technology - 800 CEO Read Blog
Everybody has been asking us what books they should read to understand social media. People are trying to make sense of this newly connected world. How does Facebook affect my business? Should I be tweeting? Do blogs still matter?
"Yes" is the answer to all three of those questions. Open a facebook account. Step up a search on Twitter. And for Pete's sake, keep in the blog going.
Books provide context. They examine the broader implications. I am not sure we have worked out all the broader implications and with the snail pace of books, publishing is just catching up with the product.
Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky comes the closest to making these complicated issues apparent. We reviewed the book in April for Jack Covert Selects.
The impetus behind this post was from a list I ran across at bpodr.com (post one and post two). The list is pretty good and if you are not familiar with these, you have some reading to do.
- The Cluetrain Manifesto by Levine, Searle, Locke, and Weinberger
- Naked Conversations by Scoble and Israel
- Groundswell by Li and Bernoff
- The Search by Battelle
- The Long Tail by Anderson
- Now is Gone by Livingston and Solis
- The New Rules of Marketing and PR by Meerman Scott
- Purple Cow and Meatball Sundae by Godin
- Always Be Testing by Eisenberg & Quarto-vonTivadar with Davis
Special Offers on Seth Godin Books
Posted Jan. 18, 2008 6:21 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In The Company - 800 CEO Read Blog
For those you have been following the tour and to our loyal readers, here are a few offers:
- We are offering Meatball Sundae for 40% off. This will run through the weekend and close on Tuesday.
- If you buy 10 copies, we'll send along a Seth Godin Marketing Guru Action Figure. Use this link for the offer.
- We also have a Seth Godin Library. Nine Books for $99.
Other Reviews of Meatball Sundae
Posted Jan. 18, 2008 6:09 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Marketing - 800 CEO Read Blog
Here is a list of reviews to give you an idea of what other have been saying about Meatball Sundae:
- Jack Covert Selects - "Meatball Sundae is a wake-up call for companies to get rid of old ideas. I was captivated by the examples Godin uses to explain how the trends work, why the new marketing tactics don't work for many companies and how they can use this knowledge to grow and change along with the trends. This is a must-read for anyone who thinks that, by default, they have to use new media to sell their products."
- Church of the Customer - Jackie actually eats a Meatball Sundae (no, not the book). Watch the video.
- Gaping Void - Hugh asks Seth ten questions including "The fact that blogging changed your book writing style over time is well documented. Has anything come down the pike recently that's affected your blogging style?"
- Bruce Clay - "What is a meatball sundae? A meatball is a worthwhile commodity. They are things we need and sold to everyone. The sundae is the hot fudge and the peanuts, the tactics of social media and the MySpace profiles."
- Copyblogger - "Seth explains that you’ve got to reinvent your business to fit the realities of the new marketing (rather than the other way around), because ideas that spread through groups of people are far more powerful than ideas delivered at an individual. Those are Seth’s words, and that’s the best definition of social media marketing I’ve heard."
- WebInkNow - "Godin says fourteen trends are completely remaking what it means to be a marketer. And while these trends are transforming organizations that have the right approaches, they are crippling the organizations that are stuck with nothing but meatballs. Once again, marketing is transforming what we make and how we make it."
- MSNBC - Contributor Peter Hartlaub says "Chances we’ll be using [Meatball Sundae] in 2017: A new marketing book comes along every few minutes, but this cool new coinage has some staying power."
Jack Covert Selects - Meatball Sundae
Posted Jan. 18, 2008 4:50 a.m. by 800-ceo-read
Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin, Portfolio, 256 pages, $23.95 Hardcover, January 2008, ISBN 9781591841746
In Meatball Sundae, marketing guru Seth Godin explains that not all products are created equal in terms of marketing approach. In the old days of marketing, consumers really had no choice but to listen to whatever marketers, sales clerks, or the media ads wanted them to hear. And for companies trying to promote a product, there were only a handful of media tactics to control. But things have changed, and the old target audience can fast-forward through commercials and block ads with TiVo, DVRs, and SPAM blockers. So, companies must turn to other media channels like YouTube, MySpace, Google, blogs and blog trackers. Consumers have adapted to hearing those messages from this new media and, Godin assures, there are plenty of consumers to target. But, he cautions against doing a new media patch job on any old product. Certainly we've all done it, tried to pass off something as different from what it is. Maybe it's growing a beard to cover a blemish or wearing black because it's slimming. But in the marketing world, that's like making a meatball sundae.
Godin refers to any kind of base company, product and/or service as meatballs. The new marketing tools and tactics--YouTube, Google, blogs--are the whipped cream with cherries on top that these companies think they should be using in this time of new marketing. Godin offers the Proctor and Gamble line of cosmetics, Reflect, as an example of how a meatball can get drowned in whipped cream. Six years of being in the red, P&G stopped production because their demographic did not want cosmetics from a small appliance company. Godin urges companies to be smart, and either find the ice-cream for their toppings, or just stick to meatballs without the sweets. Marketers can use Godin's 14 Marketing Trends, which include outsourcing, authentic product stories, the long tail, and the triumph of the big idea, among others.
Meatball Sundae is a wake-up call for companies to get rid of old ideas. I was captivated by the examples Godin uses to explain how the trends work, why the new marketing tactics don't work for many companies and how they can use this knowledge to grow and change along with the trends. This is a must-read for anyone who thinks that, by default, they have to use new media to sell their products.
